Lucky Ones
by TeeBeMe
Summary: Isabella wanted nothing to do with that ridiculous Host Club but since when did anyone ever listen to her? On top of battling her cousin and Uncle for a company she does not want, she still somehow finds the time to fall in love with the Wild Host of Ouran's Host Club. It's an amazing feat, she'd like to think. Rewrite of We Own The Night.
1. Cashing in my bad luck

"It's….. _pink."_

And that's not to say she wasn't a fan of the color pink. Really, it was a fine color. She was fond of the color pink, it was her Mother's favorite color but…. _the school was pink._ It just...how could she take this school seriously when the damn color was pink? And a light pink, at that. Not that the certain shade really made a different but...it's just...it was pink!

Next to the scowling girl, a younger girl smiled serenely. She was noticeably shorter than her companion with silk-like hair that was trimmed neatly to her shoulders. Black bangs were pushed back and held in place by a white headband, revealing excited dark green eyes. "What does the color have to do with anything, Iz?" She asked in amusement.

The girl next to her, Isabella, stood taller with a mane of thick, curly brown hair with blonde highlights. Wild bangs crowded hazel brown eyes but the girl seemed unaffected by it. She folded her arms across her chest with a frown. "Well, it clashes with the God-awful uniforms, for one," Isabella replied blankly. Isabella Giovanni was seventeen years old and new to Ouran Academy for her last school year. Not by choice, obviously. If it was up to her, she would have finished her last school year back home in Italy but her parents had a different idea.

Isabella was born to Alphonse and Masami Giovanni amid controversy among Masami's family. Morimoto Masami was the heiress of Morimoto Industry, an Automotive Company worth billions when she went on a vacation to Venice, Italy at the age of eighteen. It was there that she met up and coming businessman, Alphonse Giovanni. Despite being seven years older than Masami and already married with three sons, the two fell in love.

Masami returned home to Japan briefly only to run off back to Italy to be with Alphonse. Her family had been furious but nothing they said or did could bring the runaway heiress back home. Masami was then disowned and her younger sister, Chihiro, was named the heiress. Alphonse then divorced his first wife, Francesca, and married Masami. A year after marriage, Masami was pregnant with Isabella. In that same time-span, Francesca seemingly vanished completely, leaving Alphonse's three sons behind. Masami was glad to raise Francesco, Alonzo and Vicente along with Isabella.

For years Isabella lived peacefully with her family. She didn't really know her Mother's side of the family except for Chihiro and her daughter, Fumiko. Chihiro had been the only one to forgive and keep in touch with Masami and her family during her exile. Isabella and Fumiko had essentially grown up to be best friends despite the far distance between the two.

And then recently, Masami's mother reached out to her. According to Shinobu, Isabella's grandfather's health was failing drastically. She begged to see Isabella, to have Isabella meet Hiroki before dying. For some reason Isabella refused to understand, Masami thought it would be good for Isabella to spend her last year in Japan in order to get to know her family.

And that is how Isabella ended up in front of Ouran Academy with Fumiko, dressed in that God-awful buttercup yellow dress. Isabella was not happy with the sudden arrangements but she never was one to argue with her parents. Alphonse was initially uneasy with Isabella living in Japan but Chihiro volunteered to house her until the year was over and well, he really didn't have much of an argument after that.

"There's nothing wrong with the uniforms. I quite like them," Fumiko pouted momentarily, flicking some of her hair back into place. Isabella glanced at her younger cousin and then looked down at the dress. She pinched some of the fabric between her fingers, pulling at the skirt. Fumiko smacked her hand away like she was a child. "You'll wrinkle your dress!"

"Well, of course you like the dress. You don't know any better but I do. This is horrible, honestly, the color, the shape….the sleeves. Everything about it but then again, the school is pink so I'm not really surprised," Isabella huffed irritably.

Fumiko waved her cousin's concern off with a flippant wave of her hand. "You're just being dramatic. Now come on, the first bell will ring soon and I would hate for you to be late," Fumiko stated before approaching the school. Isabella rolled her eyes but obediently after Fumiko. She paid attention as Fumiko expertly led her through the hallways, making small mental notes of anything that stuck out just in case she found herself lost and on her own. Fumiko chattered all the while but Isabella barely reacted to it, all too used to her cousin's chatty ways.

"I'll meet you later for lunch, okay? I'll introduce you to Ayame-chan and Yuna-chan, they're excited to meet you," Fumiko explained in front of Isabella's classroom. The tall brunette nodded distractedly while looking over her schedule. The Japanese school day was so different compared to the Italian school day and she having some trouble trying to wrap her head around it.

Fumiko was gone before Isabella could really reply, leaving her alone in the freakishly large but empty hallway. Isabella frowned tightly and glanced towards the classroom door. She was never one to be nervous given her blunt nature but she was in a completely new environment and knew no one except her cousin. Her cousin who happened to be a year younger than her and thus, a second year, not a third year.

Sighing heavily and steeling her nerves, Isabella entered the classroom. The classroom, although not noisy in the first place, came to a quiet lull at the sight of her. Not only was she a new student, she was clearly a foreigner given her mocha complexion and insanely curly hair. "There you are," the teacher turned to her and Isabella vaguely remembered that her name was Muramasa. "Don't be shy, come in. Come introduce yourself," Muramasa smiled in what Isabella guessed what supposed to be reassuring. At least the woman was trying, she guessed blankly.

"Good morning," Isabella greeted politely, hoping her accent didn't bleed into her Japanese. "My name is Giovanni Izabera," She tried to smile pleasantly and wondered if she failed. "I'm from Italy and I'll be staying with my Aunt and cousin for the year. I'll hope you'll take care of me," She kept it short and simple. Honestly she didn't really care if her classmates cared for her or not. She'd rather get the year over with so she could return to Italy. She didn't really have any intentions of making friends. Those were useless attachments that she didn't really need.

Muramasa assigned her seat, placing her in between two girls. They were friendly enough to greet her but she knew it was only because they had to, not because they wanted to. But that was just fine with her and she politely showed them the same kindness.

' _Her hair is so wild.'_

' _She's really tall.'_

' _She doesn't really look Japanese and her accent sounded strange.'_

' _I've never heard of the Giovanni family. Do you think she's here on a scholarship?'_

Izzy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her hair was not wild and she did too look Japanese! She also was not deaf. She took a quiet but deep breath and tried to focus on whatever it was Muramasa was talking about. Her eyes discreetly scanned the room, studying her classmates and making mental notes. ' _Is that….is that a child?'_ Izzy blinked while her brows crinkled in surprise. Sitting three seats to her left appeared to be a elementary-aged boy with golden locks and honey-brown eyes. Izzy took notice of the stuffed rabbit hugged to his chest and frowned, clearly disturbed. She seemed to be the only one surprised to see him there and for the thirteenth time that day, wondered what she got herself into.

* * *

"Busy-Bee~!" Fumiko sung as Izzy made her way towards her. Izzy scowled and leaned forward, slapping her hand against Fumiko's mouth. Her younger cousin giggled but didn't seem to mind as Izzy leaned in exceptionally close and spoke quietly. Fumiko kept giggling and Izzy blankly wondered what the hell her cousin found so funny.

"Never utter those words outside the safety of our home again," Izzy threatened ominously with a dark look across her usually cool face. Fumiko continued to giggle even after Izzy slipped her hand away to settle down next to her. "This school is weird," She stated after a short pause.

"You'll get used to it," Fumiko continued to sing, despite Izzy's mutterings that she couldn't sing very well. "Oh, look! There's Ayame-chan and Yuna-chan," Fumiko motioned to the two girls that were approaching. They were about the same height as Fumiko with Ayame having long maple colored hair fashioned into two braids while Yuna sported mid-back length black hair.

Ayame grinned widely while Yuna's smile was more toned down and less….psychotic, according to Izzy. "Hi Giovanni-san! I'm Ayame and this is Yuna. It's nice to meet you, Fumiko-chan told us all about you," Ayame greeted kindly. Izzy wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. If Fumiko told them all about her, they'd know that she was painfully blunt, aloof and barely sociable. She also had a terrible temper and well….she wasn't sounding like a good person, now that she thought about it.

"You can call me Izabera. Or Izzy, if you'd like," Izzy told them instead of replying to Ayame's statement. She was positive Fumiko didn't really tell them all about her because the two smiled joyfully and sat down.

"What brings you to Japan, Izzy-chan?" Yuna prompted quietly. "Fumiko-chan says you're from Italy."

Izzy knew someone would eventually inquire as to why she was suddenly here. Her classmates had whispered among themselves, trying to figure out her sudden transfer without actually asking her upfront, all day. "I grew up in Italy and didn't really spend time with my Mother's side of the family except for Fumiko and her mom. My mom thought it would be a great idea to spend the last school year here," Izzy explained shortly. She noted that the lunch prepared by Chihiro's kitchen staff was strictly Japanese and she found herself missing the Italian cuisine she was used to.

"That's nice of your Mom, although I suppose it's hard getting used to the different cultures," Ayame noted and Izzy nodded to her words. "I know Fumiko's family owns an Automobile company. What about your family?"

"My family owns a lot of businesses, mostly wineries but we've also branched out to jewelry, fashion, banking and real-estate," Izzy answered automatically. They probably weren't too well-known in Japan but her family was a big thing back in Italy and even in the United States.

Ayame whistled low and Izzy was sure that wasn't something lady-like but it didn't bother her. "You've got a lot to live up to then," She commented, clearly impressed with the Giovanni family.

Izzy shrugged her shoulders. "I have a lot of older cousins and three older brothers. I'm actually the youngest of my generation," She corrected Ayame. She had no intentions of taking over the company her Father built from the ground up. Especially since she had three older brothers who were ready and willing to take over when the time called for it. There was also her seemingly endless amount of cousins who were almost evil in their ambition to inherit a company they had nothing to do with. It didn't make sense to expect such a thing.

"But you're older than Fumiko-chan," Yuna offered in that same quiet voice.

And that was the problem. She was older than Fumiko and their only other cousin, Katsu. Masami had been disowned but she was still the eldest daughter. The eldest daughter conveniently had a child before Chihiro or their brother, Takuma had their own children. Of course Izzy argued that since Masami was disowned and replaced by Chihiro, Fumiko should be the sole heiress to Morimoto Industry, not her. Shinobu and Hiroki then reminded Isabella that she was by default, the oldest and had the best personality when it came to running a billion dollar company. Fumiko was rather childish and Katsu was too….soft, to put it delicately. Masami and Chihiro both saw the reasoning but Takuma, on the other hand, had been rather…..furious that his son wasn't being considered but Masami's mixed breed of a daughter was. But that was a story for a different day, Izzy mentally reminded herself.

"Yes, well, that's still being discussed among the family," Izzy said shortly. Yuna and Ayame silently got the idea that the subject they were approaching wasn't a good one. "I have a question I was hoping you girls could answer. I noticed that in some of my classes, there's a very young boy. Is he in an accelerated program?"

The three girls seemed confused until a light bulb went off above Fumiko's head. "You mean Honey-chan!" She exclaimed brightly. Izzy only blinked at her because why was his name Honey? Perhaps because he was so young? He seemed freakishly popular, if she remembered correctly. "Don't be silly, Iz. Honey-chan isn't a young boy. You two are actually the same age."

Izzy frowned in confusion and looked towards Ayame and Yuna. Fumiko had the tendency to exaggerate but the two girls only smiled and nodded along to her words. "Huh," She uttered after they stopped nodding. "That's….odd," She decided after a moment's pause. The school was full of oddities, it seemed. She wasn't sure how she felt about that or if she should feel anything at all.

"Which reminds me, actually. Would you like to attend the Host Club with us after school?"

"The what?"

"The Host Club, Iz, pay more attention."

"I am paying attention. What the hell is a host club?"

"Don't swear, Iz. We've talked about that, Mama and Auntie says it's unbecoming of a woman to swear like that."

"Do you know my brothers?"

"You can't blame your potty mouth on the boys," Fumiko tutted. "Anyway, as I was saying, the Host Club. It's a club made up exceptional good-looking boys who entertain the female student body after school," Fumiko explained simply. Izzy frowned again and in the back of her mind, she could hear her Aunt Camilla saying that all that frowning would give her premature wrinkles and who wants that?

"Is that…..legal?"

To her surprise, Ayame snorted rather boyishly. She slapped her hand over her mouth and turned away in a vain attempt to conceal her laughter. Yuna glanced over at Ayame and smiled weakly before turning back to Izzy. "Of course it's legal, Izzy-chan," She replied since Ayame was too busy giggling and Fumiko was left speechless.

"That sounds a lot like prostitution," Izzy commented blankly.

" _Izabera!"_ Fumiko gaped, scandalized that something like that would even come out of her cousin's mouth. "The Host Club is a respectable and savory club! Don't sully their reputation like that," Fumiko looked as if she was ready to slap Izzy for her insolence.

"You're one of the girls they entertain, aren't you? Is that what you do with your allowance? My, how frivolous," Izzy uttered in a haughty voice. "What exactly goes on at this Host Club?" She asked, not really interested. But it seemed like it was very important to the three and Izzy was always one to get information, no matter how useless it was to her.

"There's seven Hosts you can designate with different personalities and types and you spend the afternoon with them, usually conversing and being served light snacks," Ayame finally managed to come down from her laughing fit to explain the basis of the club.

Izzy was clearly puzzled. "So you pay to spend time with these boys? They charge you to...talk to you? That's...that has to be illegal somehow. Morally, I mean, honestly, how good looking are these boys?"

"They're Godsend," Fumiko sighed as if in a trance.

"I highly doubt that…"

" _Izzzzzzy_ , you saw Honey-chan today, didn't you think he was the cutest thing you've ever seen in your life?"

"I was more concerned as to why a child was currently present in the classroom."

Ayame snorted once more but this time Yuna joined in, giggling more girlishly behind her hands. Izzy and Fumiko were opposites in every sense of the way down to their sense of humor. Despite their opposite personalities, the friendship between them was obvious. Izzy found herself actually smiling prettily at the giggling duo. Despite their eccentric interest in the Host Club, they seemed nice enough.

"Well, that settles it—"

"That settled nothing—"

"You're coming with us today."

"As much as I would like to— _which is not a lot_ —I have more things to worry about today," Izzy pointed out dryly, expertly ignoring Fumiko's pout. "For example, the curriculum being taught here is something completely different than what I was taught back home. I have a lot of catching up to do if I want to stay in the top classes."

"She has a point, Fumiko-chan," Yuna reached over to pat Fumiko's hand. "Why don't we let Izzy-chan get settled and then drag her to the Host Club?"

"Dragging sounds so violent."

"I doubt you will come willingly, Izzy-chan, but you simply must come eventually."

Izzy got the vague feeling that Yuna wasn't suggesting anything and that one way or another, she would attend the Host Club with them. She sighed heavily, at least they were agreeing that she didn't have to come immediately even though she didn't want to come at all.

"Fine, you girls win," She conceded, mentally exhausted by all this Club talk. She never was one to give up easily but something told her she was fighting a losing battle. Her life seemed to be full of losing battles lately. Izzy could only sigh heavily before turning towards her lunch.

Japan was strange. The girls were even stranger.

* * *

Hey y'all. Surprise, I know right? I was picking through Ouran Fanfic and I came across two stories that seemed oddly similar to my own Ouran fic, not that I'm saying that anyone copied or anything. It just sounded...I don't know, similar. I'm not going to call out anyone or say anyone's names because I could just be paranoid but either way, it got me thinking that my fic was pretty messy. I mean, I wrote the fic back in 2012 with the intentions of being a funny light-hearted story but somewhere in the middle the plot got a little muddled and choppy and well...reading it now, I'm not happy with it.

So I'm starting over. I know it's pretty random but I've been itching to rewrite the story and I just couldn't ignore the urge anymore. I've saved the story as a backup but this is going to be a complete rewrite. I hope a lot of you jump on this rewrite of We Own the Night and support this like you've supported the original.

Izzy and Fu's Mothers are completely revamped with Aya becoming Masami and Kya becoming Chihiro. Fu's friends Aika and Risa (I noticed that sometimes I would spell it as Rika, ew, what was wrong with me?) are now Ayame and Yuna and Izzy's brothers have gone from Lorenzo, Raphael and Eddy to Francesco, Alonzo and Vincente along with their mother Maria becoming Francesca. Izzy and Fu's families are also being revamped but they haven't been mentioned yet so I won't go into detail. Takuma and Katsu are relatively the same.


	2. I'm trying to change your mind

Chihiro perked up the moment she heard the front door close. "Izzy?" She called calmly while holding a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. Seconds later her niece came shuffling into the living room. "Welcome home dear," Chihiro smiled kindly and Izzy saw where Fu got her beauty. "Mami-nee is on the phone," She held the phone out to her.

Izzy grinned widely and hurried to join her aunt on the couch. "Hi, Mama," Izzy greeted, happy to hear her Mother's voice. With how busy her sudden move into Chihiro's home, she hadn't the chance to contact her family back in Italy.

"Izzy Busy-bee!" Masami greeted excitedly. "Finally! I've been looking forward to hearing from you the moment you stepped on the plane! Papa and the boys are going stir-crazy without you, it's quite hilarious if I'm being honest," Masami chortled. Chihiro patted Izzy on the shoulder before getting up to give her some privacy. "Chichi tells me today was your first day," Masami sounded like she was smiling ear to ear on her end of the phone. "How was it? Do you like Ouran?"

"It was fine, Mama, Ouran is fine. It's just...it's different, is all. I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything."

"Oh, I'm sorry, dear. It will get better, I promise. On the bright side, at least you know how to speak Japanese. I only knew how to say hello and ask where's the bathroom when I moved here with your father," Masami reminded her. Izzy snorted, recalling that story perfectly. It was one her parents loved to tell and suddenly a wave of homesickness washed over. She suddenly remembered just how much she missed her family. She sighed softly and picked at an errant strand of hair.

"I miss you, Mama. I miss you all."

"Oh, Bee, we miss you too. We miss you so much but try not to dwell too much on this. I want you to enjoy this time spent in Japan. Have you seen my parents yet?"

"Not yet, I figured I would settle in a little more. I spoke with Obaa-san on the phone when I made it to Auntie's house," Izzy told her. She was a little surprised that Masami's mother seemed so kind when she finally met her that Izzy could hardly believe Shinobu disowned her own daughter.

"Ah, make sure not to wait too long to see them," Masami hummed almost distractedly. "Sorry Busy-Bee, I've got to let you go. I have to get back to the office."

Izzy pouted and slouched into the couch. "Okay, I'll talk to you later then. Give Papa and the boys a kiss for me. I love you."

Masami said the same back and then Izzy leaned over to hang the phone up. She sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead. For a moment she didn't move from the couch before letting out a long sigh for the second time. She slid off of the couch to the floor, wrestling with her skirts. She grabbed her bag and began slowly pulling out her books. While some subjects were the same, such as Mathematics and science others weren't, such as Japanese Literature and History.

Izzy groaned just looking at all the new material. She decided to work on the Japanese Literature homework first, given that she knew the language but she just knew the History was going to give her some problems. By the time Fumiko returned home, Izzy was finishing up the last of her math homework. The brunette groaned and dropped her head against the coffee table. "That's not very ladylike," Fumiko pointed out while coming into the living room.

"Don't start with me," Izzy groaned, muffled but Fumiko only smiled. She settled on the couch, crossing her legs and neatly folding her hands against her knee. Izzy could just feel her cousin staring at her so she reluctantly picked her head up to glance behind her shoulder. "What?"

"Well, at the Host Club today—" Fumiko began but Izzy groaned again and dropped her head back down but Fumiko was determined. "They're very excited to meet you," Fumiko sung, watching Izzy's shoulders stiffening.

"You told them about me?"

"Well, some of the third-year girls were talking about the new girl with the wild hair," Fumiko began to explain. Izzy rolled her eyes and began to thread her fingers through her hair. It was not wild— _what is wrong with them_ —it was curly. "Ayame-chan told them your hair isn't wild and that you're my cousin. The girls apologized, of course but Tamaki-kun insisted that they meet you."

"Well now I just _have_ to come," Izzy rolled her eyes sourly. Fumiko was smiling widely while Izzy glared irritably. "And what's all this fuss about my hair? Some of those girls had their hair fixed into these obnoxiously big curls."

"Those are ringlets and they're the style right now. Your hair isn't styled into ringlets, it's just naturally curly."

Izzy huffed and ran her fingers through her so called wild hair again. She really had no intentions of attending this Host Club with Fumiko and her friends but now she would have to, no doubt about that. She couldn't just not show up, not since they knew of her and wanted Fumiko to bring her along."You're insufferable," Izzy grumbled quietly. Fumiko giggled, not taking any offense to Izzy's words. They had no actual bite to them, she just sounded weary. Like she was dealing with her rowdy brothers. Fumiko was all too used to this. Their lighthearted banter was called to a close when dinner was announced.

* * *

Izzy felt like a zombie the next morning. She stayed up way longer than she meant to the night before, studying as much as she could. She rubbed her face, trying hard to rub the grogginess away. "You look dead," Ayame commented, twirling the end of her braid around her finger. Yuna tried not to giggle but failed miserably.

"Aren't you a little too old for pigtails?" Izzy grumbled sleepily. If Ayame and Yuna insisted on being friends, they were going to have to get used to her dry and cutting personality. Just because she and Fumiko were related didn't mean they all had to be friends.

"At least I know how to handle a brush," Ayame shot back. Fumiko and Yuna glanced in between the two girls, wondering if sparks would fly. To their shock, Izzy's tired face broke out into a grin. She playfully elbowed Ayame but didn't reply and Fumiko was sure that was the first time someone actually got a little mouthy with her cousin without Izzy verbally beating them up.

She folded her arms across her chest and smiled down at Ayame, clearly impressed. "I know how to handle a brush," She sniffed primly. "It's not my fault you girls don't have any volume."

Ayame laughed as Izzy huffed. "Did Fumiko-chan tell you about yesterday afternoon?"

"Of course she did."

"So you'll come today," it didn't sound much like a question.

Izzy rolled her eyes. "You three are a force to be reckoned with. You remind me of my brothers."

"Well, as long as I get to be Franky," Fumiko hummed. Out of the brothers, Francesco had always been the one to get along easily with everyone. When Masami first met Alphonse's rowdy sons, Franky had given her the least amount of trouble.

"No way, Yuna is more like Franky. You're like Vinny, a troublemaker."

"Does that make me like the third brother?" Ayame piped up, distracting the two from their senseless bickering. The two paused and eyed Ayame thoughtfully before seemingly nodding to each other.

"You seem like Alonzo."

"Lonny has the best sense of humor but he tends to talk too much," Izzy hummed thoughtfully. Ayame silently gaped at the taller girl and then huffed. She did not talk too much! Before she could protest, the warning bell for class started. The foursome separated with Izzy going off by herself to get to her first class. She hurried down the hallway, trying to remember if she was going the right way when she made a sudden sharp turn. Izzy collided into something hard and let out a grunt when she hit the floor. Instantly she held her face, wondering if her nose was bruised and if she somehow managed to walk into a wall.

"Oww," Izzy groaned, fingers rubbing her nose soothingly. "What in the...was that a wall?" She asked while cringing. Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes as her nose continued to throb.

"Oh! Takashi, look, you knocked a girl down!" a sugary sweet voice exclaimed. Vaguely it sounded familiar and she likened it to that of a seven-year old child. But that was ridiculous because this was high school and why would there be a seven year old child running around? Suddenly a small and unnaturally cute face popped into her vision when she finally opened her eyes. Izzy blinked, her brain too frazzled by the dull throb in her nose to realize someone was talking to her. Big honey-brown eyes blinked back at her as they continued to talk to her. Izzy blinked hard and tried to shake the dizziness away.

"—you okay?"

"Uh…" Izzy stuttered, finally realizing that the sugary voice belonged to Honey-chan, the so called third year that she shared many classes with. Wow, he was really small, now that she was sitting on the floor at his height. And what a sight she must have made, sitting in the middle of the hallway with confusion slapped on her forehead. "I think so…" She finally managed to piece together, hands dropping to her lap.

"Takashi didn't mean to knock you down," Honey babbled, clearly ignoring her obvious confusion. Takashi didn't mean to knock her down? Wait a minute, she walked into a _person_? And not a wall? It certainly felt like she walked right into a wall. "Why don't you help her up, Takashi?"

A shadow suddenly fell over her as Honey backed away. Izzy's eyes widened drastically when a new figure crouched over her. She leaned back, caught off guard by just how handsome this newcomer was. No boy should be this handsome, she found herself thinking. "..sorry," He apologized, deep voice strumming quietly. Izzy frowned, put off and disturbed by his attractiveness. She realized that he and the small blond were probably waiting for her to say something and not just stare dumbly at them.

"Ah, it's fine! It was my fault, really. I wasn't really watching where I was going and I was walking way too fast," She held her hands up, waving them as if she was warding him off. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to literally run into you," She continued to babble, hoping he would back away. Instead, he reached forward to seize her by the wrists. Wordlessly and just as swiftly she was pulled to her feet. The world was practically spinning as she tried to get a good grip on reality. The vertigo was almost enough to make her feel sick but she pushed that aside when she had to crane her head up to look at the boy.

"Jesus, you're tall," Izzy uttered thoughtlessly. And that was saying something coming from a girl that stood at 5'10. She was tall for a girl, having been told several times that she shouldn't wear heels while growing up. She was used to intimidating boys being their height or even taller. "Wow, I'm sorry, that was rude," Izzy blinked once she realized what she blurted out.

From down below, Honey giggled cutely, causing Izzy to look down at him. "We have some classes together, don't we?" He asked and Izzy could have sworn big flowers bloomed around his face. She blinked hard and chalked it off as an effect from her earlier vertigo.

"Um, yes," the brunette nodded, curls bouncing around her face. "I'm Izabera," She introduced herself. Although she was certain that if they did have classes together, Honey probably already knew this.

"I'm Honey!" He exclaimed sweetly and Izzy fought the urge to tell him she kind of figured who he was. This school was weird but she doubted there was any other stunted eighteen year olds running around. "And this is Takashi but everyone calls him Mori," He motioned to his very tall companion.

Izzy was sure that Honey was also a nickname everyone called him. "Oh, well, if that's the case, you can call me Izzy. Or Bera, either one is fine," Izzy tried to smile politely.

"Can we walk you to class, Berry-chan?"

"Mmn?" Izzy made a strangled noise in her throat as Honey snatched her hand up in a freakishly tight grip. Did he just call her berry? Like the fruit? Again, confusion was slapped onto her forehead but she couldn't do anything but follow after Honey and Mori.

"You're from Italy, aren't you Berry-chan?"

So he was definitely calling her Berry. She supposed it sounded similar to Bera and she wondered if it would make a difference if she corrected him. Something told her that it wouldn't and he would insist on calling her that. "That's right, Venice," Izzy replied, wondering if it was really necessary to hold hands. She doubted Honey would actually let go, if his death grip was anything to go by.

"So far! Is Japan different from Italy?" Honey took a sharp turn and Izzy would have fallen had it not been for his grip. "Is it really true that you live on the water?"

"Mm!" Izzy nodded, taking in the semi-familiar surroundings. "Very different and yes, we live on the water," She answered with a weak smile. She didn't understand everyone's astonishment that the City on Water wasn't just some urban legend. Honey babbled some gibberish that she couldn't really hope to follow. She looked between him and Mori, frowning in confusion. Mori didn't seem bothered at all with the hyperness so she figured this was something that was to be expected.

Honey's excited babble only ceased once they finally reached the first class of the day. Izzy sighed in relief, somehow they managed to get there on time. It wouldn't do her any good to be late on her first day. To her surprise, she shared several classes with Honey and Mori and wondered how she'd miss either of them the day before. It was nice to see a friendly face among her uninterested classmates.

She was having a pretty good day when she was stopped on her way to lunch. Truthfully she wasn't in any rush to join Fu, Ayame and Yuna in the second years' dining hall. She was positive they couldn't wait to murder her with talk of this infamous Host Club. All through her classes, she heard the other girls whispering and tittering about the damn club. She couldn't get away.

"Ah, excuse me," a well manicured hand suddenly popped into her field of vision and caused her to come to a quick halt. Izzy could only blink at the other girl, frowning lightly. She was shorter than Izzy but still noticeably taller than most of the girls. Honey blonde hair was coiffed perfectly while dark brown eyes stared her down. The girl was smiling pleasantly but Izzy could not be fooled.

Izzy recognized this girl from a couple of her classes and if she recalled correctly, her name was Ozawa Hisa. "May I help you, Ozawa?" She asked politely despite wanting to be far from this girl. Something about her rubbed her the wrong way.

"Maybe," Hisa nodded thoughtfully. "Some of the girls and I were just wondering if it's really true that your Father is in the Italian Mafia."

Izzy's smile could have frozen Hell.

"Hm," Izzy made an amused noise and continued to smile at Hisa. "Why am I not surprised?" She sighed as if she was dealing with a fussy child. Hisa's gaggle of girlfriends twittered behind the honey blonde, giggling as if she told the funniest joke. "I suppose you don't know much about Italy despite it being a very simple thing," Izzy began to speak with sugar coated words. "Allow me to educate you and shed some light on the feeble brain of yours."

Hisa's eyes narrowed but Izzy continued to speak. "You see, while the Mafia is very much alive and well, the mob generally operates in Sicily. Now, if you knew your geography— _and clearly_ _you don't_ —you would realize that Sicily is in Southern Italy while I'm from Venice. Do you know where Venice is? Of course you don't, you wouldn't have asked me that silly question. Venice happens to be in Northern Italy."

Izzy was still smiling despite Hisa's acidic glare. "Is there anything else I can help you with? No? Well, if you'll excuse me," Izzy skirted around her classmate and continued to lunch. She felt as if she handled her temper pretty well, she smiled widely. One thing Izzy would not tolerate was disrespect towards her family. Wealthy or not, no one had the right to badmouth her Father just because of some stupid Italian stereotype.

"What's that smile for?" Fumiko noticed her cousin first. Izzy only sat down next to her. "Did something bad happen?"

"Something bad has to happen to make me smile? I can't smile just because?" Izzy asked with an amused look. Ayame chuckled across from the cousins.

"I just met you yesterday and I can already tell you don't smile just because," Ayame pointed out with a mischievous grin. Izzy instantly began to pout.

"You three are a rather mean bunch."

"I didn't say anything, Izzy-chan."

"Guilt by association, Yuna."

This time Yuna pouted. "A classmate stopped me on the way here to ask if my Papa was in the Italian mafia," Izzy began to explain her amused smile. "I think I might have embarrassed her with my reply but to be fair, she asked for it."

"Ah, you're right, Fumiko-chan," Ayame hummed. "Your cousin is quite sadistic."

"I told you."

* * *

"Do I really have to come? I really should be studying…"

Fumiko adamantly ignored Izzy's words and continued to drag her down the halls. Of course, she knew that if Izzy really didn't want to come, Fumiko wouldn't be dragging her anywhere. Izzy could be freakishly strong if she wanted to be. "You studied all last night! You can afford a break, Izzy," Fumiko pointed out. Izzy only let out an exasperated sigh and frowned. Ayame and Yuna followed closely behind, finding the whole thing quite funny.

"There's about a million other ways I could spend this break but somehow you think talking to a bunch of boys is ideal," Izzy muttered sullenly. "Not only that but I have to _pay_ to talk to them? Why can't I just talk to you?"

"Because I'm not a Host."

"No but you are psychotic."

Fumiko expertly ignored Izzy's dry wit. "I think you'll enjoy it, Izzy-chan," Ayame piped up from behind her. "I suggest designating Tamaki-kun!"

Yuna frowned thoughtfully. "I don't...I don't think Izzy-chan would very much like that…"

"What? What's wrong with her?"

"Why does it have to be something wrong with _me_?"

"Because _everyone_ likes Tamaki-kun."

"I feel like you're lying but okay…."

Yuna chuckled softly and shook her head. "I suggest designating Haruhi-kun, he is a lot more...ah...normal, compared to the other Hosts…"

"This is sounding more and more bad with each thing you girls tell me," Izzy stuck out her tongue in distaste. "Honestly…" She muttered in bemusement.

"Here we are!" Fumiko stopped suddenly and Izzy nearly ran into her. "The Host Club," She grinned widely as Izzy frowned with her free hand on her hip. Fumiko suddenly shot her a meaningful look. "You'll behave, won't you?"

"Oh, would you just open the door?" Izzy scowled, fed up with the antics and reached around Fumiko to throw the doors open. The Club room was light brightly, causing her to squint slightly. A swarm of rose petals momentarily blinded her. "Did they...they throw rose petals at us?" Izzy asked sourly while picking a errant petal out of her curls. She frowned and eyed the petal in mild annoyance.

"Fumiko-chan!" a lanky blond suddenly came bounding towards them. Behind her, Ayame began to coo and sigh but Izzy tuned that out to watch the tall blond interact with her bright-faced cousin. "We've been waiting for you!" He shouted rather jovially in her face. Izzy didn't see what was so appealing about screaming into someone's face but to each's own, she supposed. He suddenly noticed her, eyes snapping over Fumiko's head and causing Izzy to flinch back suspiciously. "Is this your cousin you told us about yesterday?"

For a moment, Izzy wished that Fumiko would tell him no and that she could take her leave but she knew Fumiko. She wouldn't have dragged her here with the intentions of letting her run off. Seemingly at a loss for words, Fumiko rapidly nodded her head. And then suddenly he was in front of her, producing a white rose seemingly out of nowhere to present it to her. Yuna joined in on the cooing.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you, Hime!"

"...where did this rose come from?"

"Fumiko-hime has told us all about you." Despite something telling her not to, she accepted the rose anyway. She rolled the stem between her fingers, blankly noting that it was out of season. "It's a honor to have you join us, Hime."

Izzy got the impression that this was the part she was supposed to swoon at him. Instead she only blinked at him. "Izabera, my name is Izabera. Not Hime, not anything ridiculous like that," She stated simply. "Do you grow these roses yourself or have them imported? White roses aren't really common, no?" She asked, clearly unimpressed. Tamaki only blinked at her and then stiffened. He looked behind him to the other occupants of the room, as if he couldn't understand why Izzy didn't immediately swoon. Izzy raised one brow and tilted her head to the side. She glanced at Fumiko. "Can I go home now?" She asked blankly.

"You can't just leave!" Tamaki all but shouted and surged forward to grab Izzy by her shoulders. "You haven't designated a Host yet!"

"If they're anything like you, I think I'm better off…."

"Izzy!" Fumiko chided as Tamaki seemingly broke. Izzy watched with detached curiosity as Tamaki melted into a puddle to the floor. "She didn't mean that, Tamaki-kun! Get a hold of yourself," Fumiko insisted as Izzy took a careful step back. Girls came flooding towards him, offering an endless amount of compliments to soothe his shattered pride.

"Right…." Izzy backed towards the door. She'd only been in there for barely five minutes and yet she felt like she'd seen enough. There was no way she was going to be charged to have a conversation with a person as ridiculous as Tamaki. "Well this was fun but I think it's time for me to make my exit, have a nice day…" Izzy gave a fleeting wave. She was suddenly caught by two pairs of hands. Izzy made an indignant noise as the hands slithered around her waist. She came face to face with a pair of twins. Izzy blankly noted that they looked rather devilish.

"I'd say she just broke a new record today."

"I think so too."

"But my, my, she is rather tall, isn't she?"

"Very! How tall are you, Hime?"

Izzy huffed at the silly nickname and rolled her eyes. She felt their hands flattening against her waist and she almost slapped them away. But if she did that, she knew Fumiko would have a fit and the others girls would be absolutely scandalized that she'd actually swatted at their beloved hosts. "I hardly think that's any of your concern," She replied flatly instead.

Fumiko visibly popped out of the crowd of girls that surrounded Tamaki. Izzy figured he was the most popular one, why, she had no idea. He seemed kind of like a moron to her. "She's 5'10!"

"Fumiko!" Izzy scowled at her younger cousin, finally letting her frustration break across her face. "You're a traitor!" Izzy growled around the two boys. Fumiko only smiled before hurrying after Tamaki and his parade of girls. It seemed as if he momentarily forgot about Izzy's new presence. That was just fine with her, the sooner she got away from these devil twins, the sooner she could leave!

"She's our height~."

"Even taller in heels. She'd be perfect to model some of Mom's new creations…"

Again, Izzy huffed with her arms folded across her chest. She quickly shook the twins off. "I'm not a model so I won't model a thing. Now, let me go so that I can…"

"Berry-chan!"

The bubbly exclamation seemed to cause everything to pause as Honey suddenly came darting towards Izzy. He jumped at her, catching her around the waist and effectively knocking her right out of the twins' grasp. "I didn't know you and Fumiko-chan were cousins!"

Somehow Izzy managed to catch the airborne blond and swung him around to keep herself from falling over. Despite her annoyance, her plump lips pulled into a smile as she looked down. "Ah, well, I think it's right to assume no one knew we were cousins. Different last names and everything," She pointed out. A sour woman, she was, but Izzy was sure no one could resist Honey's cute charm. Herself included.

"I knew," a smooth voice interrupted, causing Izzy to look up. He was taller than her, perhaps by an inch, which still kind of surprised her. His hair was dark and detached light brown eyes regarded her from behind sleek glasses. Izzy only stared at him. "It's nice to finally meet you, Giovanni-Hime," He greeted coolly.

"Hi Kyo-chan!" Honey continued to dangle from Izzy's waist. Izzy didn't seem to mind or to care for whatever reason, keeping his shoulders clasped under her hands.

Izzy raised one fine brow, suddenly having an odd feeling about this particular host. "Kyo-chan?" She asked slowly, as if amused. He simply nodded towards Honey before turning his attention back to Izzy.

"Ootori Kyoya."

"Ah, well, I would introduce myself but you seem to already know who I am, Kyoya," Izzy replied smoothly. Hisa suddenly popped up in her line of vision, causing Izzy to groan. Since when was it ideal to surround herself with people she didn't like? And when did Hisa decide that it was okay to talk to Izzy anyway? It didn't take a genius to figure out that the honey blonde wasn't fond of the brunette.

" _Kyoya-kun_ ," Hisa stressed, leaning into Izzy with her hands on her hips. The taller brunette only frowned. "You seem to forget honorifics, _Giovanni-chan_."

"I didn't forget anything, Ozawa," Izzy stated blankly. "We don't use these type of honorifics in Italy."

"This is Japan, not Italy, _Giovanni-chan_."

Hisa was really starting to bug her, if the twitch of her eyebrow is any indication. "That's okay!" Honey suddenly exclaimed. Her waist felt heavy and a for a moment Izzy wondered how she forgot about the human being dangling from her waist.

Abruptly Tamaki popped up once more. "That's right, we have to respect Izabera-hime's slow transition to our culture," He said loud enough for the other girls to hear. The girls began to twitter excitedly among themselves. Izzy resisted the urge to sigh and roll her eyes. She doubted any of the girls actually cared about her transitioning between two totally different cultures.

"Honey- _chan_ ," Izzy shot a look at Hisa. "Could you please get down? It's rather difficult to move around with you hanging from my waist."

Mori was suddenly there, easily picking Honey from her waist. He lightly scolded Honey for jumping on her and Izzy opened her mouth to thank him for the assistance but was drowned out by the four girls that surrounded the two third years. Hands clasped together, they cooed, chirped and swooned at the duo. Izzy could only muster a thankful but exasperated smile before Kyoya stole her attention once more.

"I'm sure that Fumiko-hime explained how our club works, Giovanni-hime," Kyoya spoke smoothly and friendly but something unnerved her about him. "Who would you like to designate? Is there a particular type you are inclined to?"

"Type? I'm afraid Fumiko left something important out. And speaking of her, how did you know we're related? We don't have the same name.."

Kyoya's glasses glinted ominously and he smiled, although Izzy was certain she'd prefer it if he stopped smiling at her. Something was just off about this boy. "I know everything that I need to know about you," He stated in a dark voice. Izzy made an odd noise because what the hell did that mean? Unfortunately, Kyoya was already on to the next topic. He was rapidly explaining the different types, starting with Tamaki's Prince Charming type all the way to Haruhi's natural type.

"This is disturbing," Izzy muttered as she considered who was the most normal out of the entire group. Tamaki was excluded immediately along with the twins who were named Hikaru and Kaoru. There was no way she was dealing with a pair of devil twins. Kyoya was also exed out of the equation, she didn't like that smile of his. Which left her with Honey and Mori, who were basically a package and the natural Host, Haruhi. Kyoya was kind enough to point out the Natural Host to her. Izzy knew she didn't understand a lot of the Japanese culture but she was almost sure that Haruhi was a rather feminine name.

Izzy noticed Hisa making her way over to the group of girls that were trailing after Mori and Honey. Not in the mood to deal with the honey-blonde any more than she already had to, Izzy made a quick choice. "I suppose Haruhi will do," She finally relented with a sigh. Kyoya offered another smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and maybe that's what bothered her. It was a polite smile but he didn't mean it. She slowly left his side, only stopping once to wonder where the hell Fumiko had gone.

"Hi," Izzy offered a kind smile, hands folded behind her back. Haruhi looked up at her, probably a little caught off guard that she was so much taller than him. "Mm, I'm not exactly sure how this works but Yuna insisted that you're the most normal one in this room and I think I need a little normality."

Haruhi offered a very sweet smile and motioned to the plush couch. "I guess you could say I'm the most normal one…" He trailed off thoughtfully. "Would you like some tea? Cookies?"

Izzy wrinkled her nose at the cookies. She wasn't one for sweets, only indulging in them every now and then. "Tea is fine," She answered politely.

Haruhi nodded and set off to make the cup of tea. Izzy studied the younger boy, noting how large his brown eyes were. He had a rather soft face and small but plump lips. "Kyoya-senpai says you're from Italy," Haruhi suddenly prompted, breaking Izzy out of her thoughts. "Northern or Southern?"

"Oh, Northern Italy. Venice, actually."

"The City on Water, I've always heard it's quite a sight."

Izzy shrugged one shoulder and reached for the tea, nodding her head in thanks. "I suppose so. It loses the appeal when you've grown up there. It's beautiful to foreigners but to me it's just home. Simple home. You really should visit though."

Haruhi chuckled and shook his head. "There's no way I could afford a trip like that," He commented simply. He didn't sound irritated or anything by it, just stating facts. Izzy's face scrunched up in thought.

"No? You've never been? Why is that?"

"Haruhi-kun is here on a scholarship!" one girl, a peppy brunette, offered brightly. Izzy blinked owlishly and for a moment she felt as if they were waiting for her reaction.

"Oh, interesting. I didn't know Ouran had a program like that. Are there any requirements you have to follow even after receiving the scholarship?" Izzy leaned forward towards Haruhi, oddly interested. Despite being of the wealthy, her three older brothers had several scholarships when they were in college. She remembered how often they would stay up studying to maintain their grades. A dark look crossed Haruhi's face that Izzy knew all too well. "I know that look, my brothers looked like that all the time in college," Izzy laughed pleasantly but it came out sounding hollow to Haruhi.

For what it's worth, Izzy could admit that she enjoyed Haruhi's company. He wasn't a complete moron like Tamaki nor was he was he devilish like the twins. Kyoya gave her an odd feeling, seeing as how he seemingly always knew when she was thinking ill of him. She was positive that she would have enjoyed Honey and Mori's company had it not been for Ozawa Hisa. But that still didn't change the fact that something was off about Haruhi. Izzy wasn't sure what it was but she knew there was something about the young Host.

Of course she couldn't just come out and randomly accuse Haruhi of something being wrong. She didn't necessarily care, it was just an observation she'd made during their time together but her curiosity was piqued. Too bad she had no intentions of seeing Haruhi again. Besides, even if she did come again, her odd feeling wouldn't change.

Tamaki attempted to speak to her but she swiftly left the Hosting room before the poor blond could get a word in. Izzy made her way to the entrance of the school, patiently waiting for Fumiko. Now that she'd given in to her cousin's insistence on coming to the Club, she would be left alone.

Fumiko appeared, beaming excitedly. "What did you think, Izzy? Wasn't it wonderful?" She buzzed as the two made their way outside and towards the Moriomoto town-car waiting for them. Their driver greeted them politely and opened the door for them. The two slid into the backseat of the car, kindly thanking him for waiting for them. "Well?" Fumiko pressed, taking notice that Izzy had yet to answer her question.

Izzy leveled her cousin with a blank stare. "Sure, Fufu, wonderful," She replied dully. Fumiko's smile dropped and she rolled her eyes. She leaned back into the seat and folded her arms across her chest. Izzy watched the entire spectacle with only a quirked eyebrow. "Don't slump, Fu," She prodded at her shoulder. "It's unbecoming of a woman, what would Aunt Chi say if she saw you right now?"

"She would understand and agree with me that you're being too harsh," Fumiko huffed around a pout. "You really didn't enjoy spending time with Haruhi-kun? He's so nice and you looked like you were enjoying yourself," Fumiko pointed out in accusation. Izzy took a deep breath and rolled hers, almost as if she was dealing with a fussy child.

"He was very nice, actually. I did enjoy talking with him, he's very charming and friendly," Izzy admitted quickly. Yes, she thought the entire concept of the Host Club was rather idiotic but Haruhi was a nice young boy to talk to. She was a little surprised that he was only a first year, he seemed rather mature for his age. But then again, anyone would seem mature standing next to someone like Tamaki.

The partition slid down, alerting the two to their driver. "I've been asked by the lady of the house to inform you that Shinobu-sama insisted on Izabera-sama visiting today," He said quickly.

Izzy threw her head back and groaned loudly. Just great.

* * *

TeeBeMe: Hey guys. Short chapter, I know but it'll get longer and also pick up soon! Really hoping you guys will like the rewrite. Favorite, follow and review!


	3. Show your face, finish what you started

There's a lot that Izzy didn't particularly enjoy. In fact, she could probably sit down and write a list of all the things she didn't enjoy. It would even have little notes and maybe even anecdotes. At the very top of Izzy's list of things she didn't enjoy was manhandling. Clearly Aunt Chihiro didn't get the memo. Or, knowing her Aunt, she did get the memo and decided to just ignore the hell out of it. Izzy was practically yanked out of the car and shoved into the house. Chihiro was speaking rapidly to the maids. Behind them, Fumiko trailed in calmly.

Izzy was extracted out of her God awful dress and spun into a deep blue kimono paired with a white obi. Her hair was wrestled into a very thick bun that put a strain on her neck. They added decorative hair ornaments, weighing down her hair even more. Izzy drew the line when they came at her with makeup. She didn't hate it but she wasn't going to wear it to meet her Grandparents. "My, don't you look beautiful?" Chihiro chirped when the maids deemed Izzy ready. Izzy only frowned at her aunt, clearly not impressed.

"The kimono is too tight, Oba-chan."

"No it isn't," Chihiro waved her niece's sour attitude off. Izabera was like a surly but nurturing blend of Masami and Alphonse. Chihiro liked to think that she could easily handle Izzy just as well as her parents. "Your breasts are just too big. Take small breaths. Now come along, Okaa-san is expecting us and she doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Izzy sputtered behind her but followed after the woman. "Why do we have to wear kimonos? This isn't some special occasion or festival," Izzy pointed out while taking careful steps behind her Aunt all the way to their waiting town car.

Chihiro reached over to fix a rebellious curl that managed to come undone from the brunette's hair style. "Because your grandparents think that a good Japanese woman still dresses like a Japanese woman, no matter what type of life she lives."

"Do I really count since I'm only half?"

Chihiro did not look impressed. Izzy pouted and almost slouched but thought better of it. There was no doubt Chihiro would slap the slouch right out of her. Instead she continued to pout and wondered how the hell did her mother wear a kimono in her teenaged years. The car ride wasn't long, seeing as how Hiroki and Shinobu's massive estate wasn't far from Chihiro's home. Izzy wasn't sure if she was nervous or not with the impending meeting but these were the people who essentially turned their backs on her Mother.

Chihiro reached over and patted her hand. "Things were a little rocky between your Mother and our parents for years but there's no ill-will towards you, honey," Chihiro stated while patting at Izzy's hand. Izzy tried hard not to frown. Even if that was the case, she was still protective of her Mother. The car came to a slow crawl until finally stopping in front of a massive Japanese manor. Izzy frowned at the sight, feeling very uneasy. From the few phone calls from her Grandmother, Shinobu seemed like a kind woman. But then again, she didn't know the woman.

They're greeted by a rather severe looking woman at the door. She offered Chihiro a sort of fond expression but frowned down her nose at the sight of Izzy. The brunette didn't really care. Even if her grandparents accepted her, the rest of the family wouldn't. But Izzy was always aloof and cynical and wasn't impressed with their behavior.

Chihiro led Izzy down a series of long hallways until they finally reached a family room. It seemed as if it wasn't used on a regular basis. That made Izzy frown thoughtfully. In Italy, their family room was used on a regular basis. Her Father's side of the family was almost comically huge and they tend to flock to Alphonse's home. Although some of them weren't impressed with his Asian wife, Masami proved to be a fantastic hostess.

A bout of homesickness weighed her shoulders down.

"Finally!" a worn voice shattered her homesickness, pulling her out of the dark corner her mind wandered off to. She's rather small, somewhere around Fumiko's height. Next to her, Chihiro bowed and Izzy found herself thinking that quite odd. Every time her Nonna saw Alphonse, she cooed and wrapped her big son up in her arms. She treated Masami the same, hugging her tightly. And then she would cover her and her brothers in red stained kisses.

But this was not her Nonna Serafina. This is her Obaa-san, Shinobu.

"Hello, Okaa-san," Chihiro smiled pleasantly but Izzy eyed the smile with a frown. That was not a genuine smile. It was empty and polite. Izzy wondered about the truth of their relationship.

"Good to see you, Chihiro. The company is prospering, I see.." Shinobu commented. Chihiro only nodded. "I often wonder how it would fare had Masami stayed."

It wasn't a jab at her Mother but at Chihiro. And although it could be considered a compliment towards her Mother, Izzy still felt herself bristle. She opened her mouth to defend her aunt but Chihiro subtly brushed her hand across Izzy's lower back, halting her from going on her infamous tirades. "How is Otou-chan?" Chihiro asked, completely bypassing Shinobu's snark. "I haven't talked to him since Sunday evening but he said he was doing okay. He's excited to meet Izzy," Chihiro spoke through that polite smile. Izzy wasn't sure of the dynamics in the Morimoto family but she was sure she didn't like it.

"Hiroki is doing just fine but he hasn't really mentioned meeting Izabera," Shinobu sniffed. Izzy watched the woman's face, wondering if that tight bun had anything to do with her short personality.

Chihiro's shoulders straightened. "Well, he told me he was very excited to meet his granddaughter. Is he awake?"

For a long moment, Shinobu said nothing. Izzy looked in between the two with a small frown. The women said nothing for a good couple of minutes while Izzy's patience fizzled out. The brunette clapped her hands loudly, creating a loud clap to break the women out of their staring contest. "Not that this isn't fun…" She trailed off with a quirked brow. "But Oji-chan is expecting me. I would hate to keep him waiting."

There was a spark of amusement in Chihiro's eyes but Shinobu didn't seem impressed. "Why don't you wait here with Chihiro and I will go see if he is up for it."

Shinobu turned sharply and left the two in the unused family room. Izzy waited a good three minutes before turning to Chihiro. "What just happened?"

Chihiro ran her hands down the skirt of her kimono, green eyes glittering. "You met your Obaa-san. Lovely, isn't she?" She asked with a quirk of her lips.

"She barely spoke to me. Is it...is it always like this?" Izzy asked slowly. She couldn't really fathom the idea of having a bad relationship within family. She wondered if it had anything with the different cultures. Family was highly valued in Italy. Perhaps things were different in Japan?

"Basically," Chihiro shrugged, rustling the heavy fabrics of her kimono. "But don't worry, Okaa-san is not one to entertain guests frequently. We'll only visit when absolutely necessary," She explained nonchalantly.

"Absolutely necessary?" Izzy parroted. "But we're family, a visit shouldn't have to be _absolutely necessary_ ," the brunette pointed out in exasperation. "We visit just because we can or we want to. Not when it's absolutely necessary."

A rueful smile pulled at Chihiro's lips. "This is your Mother's family, this is not Alphonse's family. There's….reasons why it was so easy for Masami to leave, perhaps you may begin to understand why."

Before Izzy could reply, Shinobu shuffled back into the family room. She was smiling but Izzy felt as if the smile had been painted on her face. "Hiroki is up for it but be mindful of his health, Izabera. Ogen will take you his room while Chihiro and I discuss some things," She motioned behind her. The severe woman from earlier appeared with that tight expression. For a moment, Izzy wondered if she'd rather deal with Shinobu than Ogen. The brunette frowned but followed after Ogen anyway.

The maid led her down more hallways, making Izzy wonder just how many people lived in this giant mansion. If it was just her grandparents, was having such a large estate necessary? That just seemed like a waste to her. "Miss," Ogen looked over her shoulder at Izzy, breaking her out of her thoughts. Izzy met her gaze, ready for some scathing remark about her darker skin or curly hair. "How is Ms. Masami?"

Izzy's lips puckered into a small 'o', any defense to her exotic appearance dying on her lips. "Mom...she's doing great," She said slowly, kind of surprised Ogen would suddenly inquire about Masami. But then again, it would have been inappropriate to ask about the runaway daughter in front of Shinobu. "She's very happy….I could tell her you asked about her, Ms. Ogen."

Ogen seemed a little surprised that she would offer to tell Masami about her. Or maybe it was how she respectfully referred to her as Ms and not just by her name. Izzy frowned in thought. She was always taught to call the maids and butlers back home Ms, Mrs or Mr and by their last names. Shinobu called her by her first name without honorifics attached to it. "That would…" Ogen started with pinched lips. "I would appreciate that, young Miss."

The rest of the walk was spent silently and Izzy wondered if she'd made an ally out of Ogen. The older woman stopped in front of grand double doors, frowning slightly. "Be mindful of Hiroki-sama's health, young Miss."

Izzy nodded slowly and stepped by her to slide the double doors open. The room was large and decorated in expensive Japanese art and furniture. The large bed surrounded by complicated medical equipment was pushed near the equally large window. The room overlooked a peaceful lake where a group of red crowned crane were located. Izzy watched the birds, feeling a sense of peace overtake her

"They're among the rarest, did you know?" a gravelly voice pulled her from her serene thoughts. She visibly jumped and looked towards the ornate bed. Izzy wasn't exactly sure of what she was expecting—a sick man obviously—but was a little surprised to see Hiroki. He was a large man and was probably around her height, if not taller. "Mami and Chichi loved them when they were just small girls."

Hiroki offered Izzy a slow smile. "Don't be scared, Izabera. Come here, let me see you," He beckoned her towards him. And although Izzy didn't like being told what to do, she found herself approaching his bedside. She sat down slowly, mostly because the kimono restricted most of her movement. Once she was comfortably settled at his bedside, Hiroki reached for hand. "You look just like your mother," Hiroki said, curling his larger hand around hers. Izzy knew that had to be a lie. She didn't look a thing like Masami except for the shape of her eyes and the beauty mark they both shared. Masami was short, petite and pale. Her black hair was cropped shorter to her shoulders and straight and her eyes were the same green color inherited from Hiroki himself.

Izzy, on the other hand, was tall, tan and shapely. Her hair was waist-length, wild, curly and brown with splashes of blond. Her eyes, the same shape as Masami's eyes, were hazel brown just like her father's eyes. Her mark sat at bottom corner of her right eye, while Masami's mark was just below her lip.

"You're the first to think so, Oji-chan," Izzy spoke, trying not to flinch when she heard her Italian accent bleed into her Japanese. She was usually so proud of her accent but now it just sounded odd.

Hiroki only looked at her, aged eyes seemingly digging deep into her. "You're seventeen, aren't you?" He asked, not waiting for an answer. "I remember when Mami was seventeen," He smiled fondly, confusing the hell out of Izzy. What in the world did that have to do with anything right now? This entire visit was odd. "I'm quite shocked to see you dressed in a kimono. Was that Chichi's doing?"

"She said a good Japanese woman dresses like one."

Hiroki let out a laugh, pulling his hand away when a coughing fit seized him. Izzy began to stand in alarm, thinking to call Ogen. Hiroki waved a fleeting hand, seemingly getting the fit under control. "You seem rather uncomfortable in a kimono, Izabera."

"I am," Izzy answered flatly. "They're very constricting and hard to walk in. I'm not really used to it," She answered truthfully. Of course she didn't mean to offend him by disliking Japan's traditional dress but hell if she would lie.

Hiroki nodded in thought. "You look quite lovely in a kimono but if you're uncomfortable, feel free to dress comfortably in any of your visits."

Izzy blinked in surprise. Chihiro suggested they'd visit only when absolutely necessary. And although she rather not interact with her grandmother, her grandfather seemed totally different from his sour wife. It made Izzy wonder what exactly happened between Masami and her parents all those years ago. "You know.." Izzy began to say, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Family should use nicknames. You can...you can call me Izzy or Bera. Or anything else, really," She began to ramble. "Mama and Papa call me Izzy Busy-bee, or just Bee."

For reasons she can't quite understand, Hiroki's smile makes her smile.

* * *

Izzy was somewhat relieved when Chihiro announced it was time to leave. She let her aunt have a few minutes alone with Hiroki before the two left.

"That...was not what I was expecting," Izzy said after a long moment of shared silence in the town car. Chihiro reached up and undid her complicated hairstyle, sighing when waves of ebony dropped down past her shoulders. Chihiro motioned for Izzy to turn, quick fingers undoing the heavy bun weighing down on her neck. Wild curls of toffee and gold sprang free, causing Chihiro to smile broadly.

"No, I suppose it wasn't," Chihiro nodded, sitting more comfortably now that her hair wasn't scraped into a tight style. "I should have warned you about Shinobu."

"You call her by her first name?"

"As does your Mother."

Izzy blinked, pulling at her memories. For the most part, Masami always called Shinobu ' _your grandmother'_ whenever she spoke to Izzy. She couldn't recall a conversation about Shinobu where Masami called her ' _Mom_ ' or ' _Mother'_ or anything.

Odd.

"Shinobu is always a businesswoman before anything. Before a mother, a grandmother or even just a _regular_ woman. Always remember that in your future encounters."

Izzy frowned and sat back next to Chihiro. She thought back to all of her older cousins vying for Alphonse's fortune even though they had nothing to do with building it up, eager to get their hands on the company. She remembered how they showered her with gifts she had no need for and compliments dipped in sugary-sweet acid, like buttering up a child would help them achieve anything. She'd been a child who could easily see their acts and while she graciously accepted what she didn't need, it was always known that Isabella knew exactly what was going on around her.

"And Oji-chan? He seems to be the complete opposite of...Shinobu," She spoke carefully, not wanting to offend Chihiro. Shinobu was still her mother, after all.

"Your grandfather has much to answer for. He knows this and it's one of the reasons that he insisted that he and Shinobu reach out to Mami-nee," Chihiro answered cryptically. "If only he didn't love Shinobu so fiercely, I'm sure all of our lives would be much different."

Izzy blinked, for once not really understanding anything. Just what was Chihiro trying to say, exactly? Was all the bad blood between Masami and her parents mostly Shinobu's doing? All of this speculation had her head spinning.

"Try not to worry too much, honey," Chihiro clapped her hands and Izzy fixed her with a dry look. How could she not worry? Her Japanese side was just as bad as her Italian side when it came to these sort of things. "As I said before, invitations are only extended when absolutely necessary. Nine times out of ten, Dad will probably just call on the phone to speak with you."

Izzy thought back to Serafina and Osvaldo. She thought of their warm embraces, their humble home and their smiles. She thought back to when she and her brothers would randomly visit them, hanging out with whoever had the same thought to visit the older couple. It was never absolutely necessary to visit her grandparents. They just did. Often.

"I wasn't prepared for how different Mama's family is from Papa's family," Izzy remarked slowly. "Papa has eleven brothers and sisters and they're all quite close to my grandparents. Mama has two siblings and none of you seem that close with Hiroki and Shinobu."

Chihiro's lips thinned in distaste. "I'd say your Uncle Takuma is quite close with Shinobu. But lately he's been in an awful mood. They've been butting heads but I've mostly kept out of it."

Izzy's frown became deeper at the mention of her mother's youngest sibling. Her parents didn't speak of Takuma at all. Izzy hardly knew a thing about the man. It was only thanks to his wife, Kioka, that Izzy had even spoken to his son Katsu. Manami never confirmed it but Izzy knew Takuma disliked her marriage to an Italian man and mixed daughter.

"I know things are different here compared to Italy. I know you don't have many family members here that will support you and shower you with acceptance and love. I know this but I want _you_ to know that you do have Fufu and myself and Dad—somewhat. I know it's not much but I'd like to think it's enough."

"And Uncle Shunsuke," Izzy quipped, mentioning Chihiro's big-shot lawyer of a husband. At the mention of him, Chihiro smiled widely.

"He's in Kyoto right now for a client but he mentioned he'll be home sometime this month. He's excited to see you, it's been so long."

"I'm excited too."

* * *

"That's an awful face to make," Fumiko grinned widely as she sauntered into Izzy's room. As soon as they'd arrived home, Izzy spun her way out of that damn kimono in favor of a nice dark blue blouse and comfortable yoga pants. She was currently sitting cross-legged on her bed, trying ( _and mostly failing_ ) to finish her History homework. "Shut up and get out," Izzy waved her away, glancing up briefly to look at Fumiko. "That shade of red looks terrible on you, by the way. Makes you look washed out."

Fumiko gasped loudly as she all but flopped down on Izzy's bed, barely wrinkling the thick blankets under her. "It does not!" She protested sharply. "Does it? Does it really make me look washed out?" She asked self consciously.

"Yep," Izzy popped her lips. "Go for more of a burgundy red if you want to wear red. Dusty pinks would look good on you. And purple. You're really pale with dark hair and eyes so go for more clear winter colors."

Fumiko looked thoughtful, pinching the fabric of her blouse between her fingers. "You seem to know an awful lot about fashion, Izzy. You always came off as a tomboy to me."

"Remember my aunt Viviana is a fashion designer. She has four sons and her and my Papa are best friends so I spent a lot of time with her," Izzy reminded Fumiko about her favorite aunt. She wasn't sure if her aunt Vivi's reputation spread to Japan but she was easily a big name in the fashion world, especially Italy.

Fumiko made an odd noise in her throat. "I hear she's supposed to collaborate with Hitachiin Yuzuha in an upcoming fashion show," Fumiko's attention strayed as she thought of all the possibilities that could steem from two big names of fashion. Izzy seemed less impressed.

"I don't know," the brunette shrugged carelessly. Izzy often modeled Vivi's prototypes since she was a young girl. It wasn't fun but it did somewhat teach her to have a lot of tolerance. It didn't teach her much because Izzy was almost infamous for her impatient attitude but it did her enough, she always thought. "And didn't I tell you to get out?"

"Oh, Izzy, you don't mean that."

"I do, Fu. I really mean it. Get out," Izzy pushed at Fumiko's shoulder. It wasn't strong enough to actually move the younger girl. Despite that, Fumiko frowned.

She pushed Izzy's hand away with a huff. "How was meeting Oba-san and Oji-chan?" She asked after of silent pause of Izzy reading whatever text that had her so focused.

Izzy frowned even harder at the mention of the meeting that took just two hours ago. "Odd. I don't think Shinobu likes me very much."

"Shinobu doesn't like anyone that much. What about Oji-chan?" Fumiko prompted smoothly. Shinobu often thought that Fumiko was still much too childish for her age. It was a battle she and Chihiro constantly waged. Izzy tilted her head thoughtfully, noting that Fumiko also used Shinobu's name.

"I thought he would be the problem but he seems like a nice old man," Izzy replied simply. She really didn't a good enough read on Hiroki to really know what he was like. He seemed more complicated than Shinobu.

"He's a lot easier to deal with than Shinobu," Fumiko nodded with soft smile. "She's easier to deal with in his presence," She shared, reaching for Izzy's math workbook. "You certainly know your math," She commented, glittering eyes going over the complicated math problems.

"Math and science is universal, the language does not affect anything. It's Japanese literature and history that gives me problems. Of course Italian curriculum for literature and history is completely different from Japanese."

"I wish I could help you," Fumiko admitted out loud. "Perhaps a classmate can assist you," She suggested while still reading over the math problems. "Although that's probably easier said than done. It's not like anyone _really_ takes their school work seriously."

Izzy glanced up a second time, eyebrows knitting together. "Why wouldn't they take school work seriously?"

Fumiko looked at her older cousin with a funny look. "Well, I suppose they do but the majority of the students in the top classes are put into those classes because of lineage, wealth, influence _and_ intelligence."

Izzy made a noise of discontent in her throat. "So academics barely matter?"

"Well, it _does_ matter...just…"

"Not as much as lineage, wealth and influence."

Fumiko smiled weakly, realizing how odd that sounded to someone who didn't attend Ouran long. Izzy threw herself backwards, plopping loudly against her bed and groaning loudly. "This school is ridiculous!" She whined, pressing her hands to her eyes. "Are you kidding me? Academics is literally last on the hierarchy. Why does that make sense to anyone? Who in the world decided to implement such a thing?"

"You're being dramatic," Fumiko sung.

"No, Fu, I'm really not. Any _normal_ person can see the flaw in Ouran's hierarchy," Izzy insisted with disgust. "I should have just went to Lobelia. Their uniforms aren't as ridiculous as Ouran's either," Izzy muttered sullenly. "Is it too late to transfer?"

"Izzy!" Fumiko gasped in indignation. Izzy didn't seem to care for the reaction, blankly brushing it off. She wasn't expecting Fumiko to hit her in the face with a pillow and it caused her to squawk in surprise. "Lobelia isn't that great!"

"Oh real mature, Fu," Izzy grabbed at the pillow and threw it back at her. "A commoner's school would be better than Ouran at this point."

Fumiko scowled at the brunette and shook her head. "Well, more importantly," She began said, twirling an obsidian lock around her finger. "Will you attend the Host Club with me again?"

"How is that more important than anything at all, Fufu?" Izzy sat up, shooting a look of bemusement at her younger cousin. "There's more to life than ridiculous boys, you know."

"Well of course there is," Fumiko replied. "I'm just not interested in any of that right now," She continued in an airy tone. Izzy snorted and threw another pillow at Fumiko, grinning when Fumiko started to giggle. "Oh, come on, Iz! It wasn't that bad. You enjoyed spending time with Haruhi-kun," Fumiko reminded her sourpuss of a cousin.

"He's a nice young boy. Normal, at least. Although I find him odd," Izzy replied while grabbing at her unfinished work. Bottom of the hierarchy or not, Izzy took her studies seriously. Just because her classmates were a bunch of spoiled, entitled idiots didn't mean she would follow suit.

"I think you find Japan odd," Fumiko remarked with an amused grin. "Although I will say Haruhi-kun is the most normal host. He is a commoner, after all, so it's to be expected…"

"I'm surprised the girls are willing to interact with a commoner."

"It was a little bumpy at first but we've all come to adore Haruhi-kun," Fumiko smiled broadly. "He's so nice," a touch of red smarted at Fumiko's cheeks and Izzy's interest piqued.

"Maybe you adore him a little more than appropriate?"

Fumiko flushed a little harder and laughed. "Well, I might have developed a crush on him when we first met but I've gotten over it."

"In favor of someone else?" Izzy asked innocently. Fumiko's face darkened even more, sending Izzy into a fit of laughter. "Have I met him? I doubt it since today was only my second day…"

"Ootori-kun."

Izzy's laughter halted. "That devil boy?" She asked with raised eyebrows. "Really, Fu? _That's_ who you have a crush on?" Izzy tutted. "Honestly, Tamaki would probably be better to crush on."

"You barely spoke to Ootori-kun, you can't just judge him like that," Fumiko reprimanded Izzy's judgemental attitude. "You don't even know him."

" _Il diavolo,_ " Izzy hissed like an old wife before her face broke into a goofy grin. "That boy is evil, I can just see it in his eyes. You're much too nice for him, Fu. Besides, with that hosting gig he's got going on, he probably isn't open to relationships."

Fumiko pouted and hunched into herself. "I know, that's why I usually designate Haruhi-kun or Tamaki-kun," She admitted while playing with her fingers. "It's easier to talk to them since I don't really have feelings for them," She shrugged. Izzy only quirked a brow at her, reaching over to stop her from picking at her nails.

"You've got terrible taste in men."

* * *

For the rest of the week, Izzy religiously avoided the Host Club. Fumiko, Yuna and Ayame tried their best to talk her into joining them but she ignored their pleas. It just seemed like a waste of time. She had more important things to focus on, like her grades. "It's just not sticking," Izzy practically growled in frustration. "No matter how much of the material I read, I can't seem to remember any of it," She vented her frustration, not realizing that Yuna was leading her in the opposite direction of the library.

"Why don't you take a break from studying?" Yuna suggested kindly. "Perhaps join us at the Host Club?"

"No," Izzy replied flatly. "It's a waste of time," She stated with a wave of her hand.

"But they ask about you all of the time!"

"I don't care."

"Oh but Bera-chan, you hardly gave them a chance," Yuna pointed out evenly. Yuna and Ayame had taken to calling her 'Bera' instead of 'Izzy'. She supposed it was easier and less awkward to pronounce in Japanese. She didn't mind but it was taking some getting used to.

"I did too give them a chance," Izzy replied stubbornly.

Yuna hummed thoughtfully before clapping her hands together. "Oh! I've got a wonderful idea," She smiled widely. "Why don't you ask Mori-senpai to tutor you?"

Izzy quirked a sculpted brow. "And why would I do that?" She asked slowly. She wouldn't admit it but her tall classmate intimidated the hell out of her. He was just so quiet and freakishly good looking. It bugged the hell out of her and she tried her best to just avoid interacting with him. Unfortunately, his constant companion, Honey-chan, made damned sure that avoidance was damn there impossible.

"History is one of his best subjects," Yuna informed her cheerfully. "It's also one of his favorite subjects as well," She clutched a book tightly to her chest. Izzy wondered if Yuna was afraid someone would snatch it right out of her arms.

"Why do you know that?" Izzy asked with a disturbed expression. It didn't take long for Izzy to realize that Yuna was a timidly quiet girl herself so her odd knowledge didn't sit well with her.

Yuna suddenly held the book away from her chest. "Kyoya-kun and Renge-chan published a character bio on all the Hosts this month. It has things like their birthdays, their likes and dislikes, their favorite subject and foods…"

Izzy stopped in the middle of the large hallway, causing Yuna to stop along with her. The younger girl smiled shyly under Izzy's blank stare. "That's...just disturbing," the brunette said after a long moment of quietly staring at Yuna. "They're not...celebrities or anything like that. They're normal boys."

Yuna shrugged indifferently and continued on, forcing Izzy to follow afterwards. "Even so, I think asking Mori-senpai to help you study is a good idea. He's great with history."

Izzy's face darkened but she ducked her head down to allow her hair to curtain her face. "Perhaps…" She trailed off slowly. She had no intentions of asking Mori anything. There's a chance he could force her into a blushing stupor and that was a chance she wasn't willing to take. Not because she liked him or anything. God no. "But anyway...are you sure the library is this way...this seems awfully familiar…." Izzy tapped her chin thoughtfully.

Before Izzy could say much else, Yuna threw open double doors and with strength she didn't know the girl possessed, dragged Izzy into the one place she had no need to be in.

Music Room 3.

"Oh, you've returned!" of course it's Tamaki that noticed her first. She didn't have a chance to escape, too busy with fixing Yuna with an evil glare. She knew she had to be more mindful of Yuna but that sneak lured her right into a false sense of security.

"Oh, you're good," Izzy hissed at Yuna. The younger girl giggled nervously and scurried towards Fumiko and Ayame. Fumiko was trying to come off as innocent while Ayame was full on grinning. "And I haven't returned, I was just— _oh!"_ Izzy wasn't proud of the girlish gasp that escaped her when Tamaki gathered her up in freakishly long arms. She almost felt like they were dancing when he spun her around and dramatically dipped her towards the floor. Blankly she stared at nothing while holding onto his shoulders. "This is it, this is really my life right now," Izzy muttered to no one in particular. "Drop me. Please just drop me, maybe the floor will crack my head hard enough to send me to the hospital," She pleaded in monotone.

Tamaki gasped and hefted her up against his chest. "I'd never allow a princess to hurt herself like that," He squawked into her face. She blankly blew at some hair that fell into her face. Izzy sighed heavily and rolled her eyes before tightening her grip on his shoulders painfully.

"Let me go, Tamaki," She ordered in a polite tone layered in ice. The tall blond did so, nervously backing away from the intimidating brunette. He never met a girl so immune to his charms. Not since...well...his eyes strayed towards Haruhi.

"Izabera-senpai," Haruhi wandered towards her, smiling courteously. "We weren't expecting you but it's nice to see you," He greeted her. Izzy's glare softened until she was smiling down at him.

"Hello, Haruhi-san," She greeted just as obligingly. She actually _did_ like Haruhi. She sometimes saw him in between classes and would exchange friendly waves. "Yuna tricked me into coming here," She explained shortly, spying her trio of friends. They were spread out with Fumiko sitting with Tamaki, Ayame with Kyoya and Yuna with the devil twins. "But I'm here so…"

"Berry-chan!"

Izzy looked over Haruhi's head easily, grinning widely at the sight of Honey jumping up and down on the expensive couch. Mori sat next to him, not budging despite Honey's antics.

"Well…I suppose I could designate Honey-chan and Mori for today," Izzy trailed off with that grin still in place. "Maybe I'll join you next time," She offered pleasantly. Haruhi nodded, deciding not to point out that Izzy usually insisted she had no business visiting. Honey ceased his jumping when Izzy ventured closer to their area. "Hi, boys," She greeted more casually. Usually Izzy tended to be more stand-offish but her sour disposition didn't stand a chance in Honey's company. "May I join you?" of course she just wanted to run the other way and go home but she was here already...so why not try to enjoy herself? Honey and Mori weren't necessarily bad company, even if Mori scared the hell out of her.

Ozawa Hisa was present in the group of girls they were entertaining. Izzy tried to hide her displeasure with the girl. She usually wasn't one to hold a grudge but the honey blonde proved to be a terrible girl during their first meeting. The brunette just wasn't impressed with the other girl but she wouldn't go out of her way to start some banter with her. It was unbecoming for a young woman to engage in a pointless fight. At least that's what Masami and Chihiro usually told her. Her aunts Emilia and Marcella, notorious for their awful tempers, usually encouraged Izzy to always stand her. Lady or not.

There other girls seemed to be younger than both her and Ozawa, which annoyed her even more. They just seemed so...bobble headed. Either way, she opted to stay quiet for the duration of the Hosting hour.

It was there that she witnessed Honey devour an entire cake. The entire spectacle left her speechless. The other girls giggled and twittered but no one seemed really concerned. She was so surprised that she didn't stop herself from leaning forwards towards Mori. "Um," She opened her mouth but snapped it shut. "Is...that….was that a _normal_ occurrence? I feel like I should be concerned," She admitted, eyes never leaving Honey. His cheeks bulged comically but he seemed pleased as he continued to devour any sweets in sight.

"It's fine," Mori spoke, rumbling voice reminding her of thunder. She blinked owlishly, realizing that she started a conversation with the ever silent giant. She straightened back up, folding her hands neatly in her lap. The last thing she needed was for anyone to assume she'd developed a crush on him days after she transferred. She was far too old for crushes.

"It was an entire cake.." She trailed off, watching the pint-sized third year take a rather large slice of fudge cake to his plate. At this point, she didn't see any reason for the plate. He was just going to vacuum it up like some dementedly cute black hole.

"He brushes twice a day," Mori continued, surprising her. She figured he was done speaking to her.

"It's not his teeth I'm worried about. That was just...alarming…" Izzy admitted, hand cupping her cheek in a worried fashion. Hisa suddenly leaned over, pressing her body into Izzy. Izzy looked at her, not appreciative of the lack of space.

"How are you liking Japan so far, Giovanni-chan?" Hisa asked with a sly smile. Izzy wondered if she could get away with shoving Hisa out of her space. The two weren't fond of each other so she wondered why Hisa was even bothering to start a conversation with her.

"It's quite fine," Izzy answered primly. "It's different but I'm getting along just fine, thank you for asking," She said with an edge to her tone. For one reason or another, Hisa seemed content with the answer and leaned away.

"Do you like sweets, Berry-chan?" Honey asked with a bright smile. Izzy was positive that there were flowers blooming around his face this time. This time she knew it wasn't just her vertigo screwing around with her perception. Flowers were literally blooming around his face. She wondered if she should bother with asking the other girls if they saw it too.

"They're fine," Izzy said after a moment of blinking down at him. "I don't indulge in them too often, they're no good for my hips," She let out a small laugh. "But there's no such thing as telling my Nonna Serafina no when she bakes her desserts so…" She smiled weakly. Serafina took it as personal offense if someone didn't want any of her desserts.

Honey's eyes got exceedingly big. "What does your Nonna Serafina bake, Berry-chan?" He asked, seemingly innocent. Izzy was not fooled. She almost laughed as he butchered the pronunciation of ' _Nonna Serafina'_ but opted to continue smiling.

"Italian desserts. Cannoli, gelato, biscotti, oh! And tiramisu, she makes wonderful tiramisu," Izzy perked up at the thought of Serafina's famous tiramisu. It was probably the only dessert she actually never tried to deny. Maybe it had something to do with her love for coffee. "It tastes like coffee," She added helpfully, noticing Honey's look of confusion. "I like coffee a lot."

Honey's eyes brightened. "Maybe Tama-chan will let us have Italian desserts."

Izzy tried not to snort boyishly. "Please, don't bother on my account."

Mori chimed in with a simple, "he means for himself."

For the umpteenth time, Izzy wondered about what she had wandered into. She wondered if it really was too late to transfer to Lobeila.

* * *

TeebeMe: Three chapters in and Izzy has already had it with just about everyone lol


	4. Master the merry-go-round

A/N: Ouran doesn't belong to me but yall knew that!

* * *

It was all Ozawa's fault.

Friday morning found Izzy having a conversation with Haruhi before their lunch period started. Despite being a member of that silly club, Izzy genuinely liked Haruhi. He was quite attractive but not in a sense that intimidated her. She also didn't have to hide her sarcastic nature around the younger man.

It was then that Ozawa decided to bodily throw herself into Izzy's back. And while she was usually quite graceful ( _ten years of dance class to thank for that!_ ) Izzy found herself falling over and taking Haruhi down with her. Luckily, no one was really around to see the two go down hard. Izzy let out a long groan, having landed halfway on top of Haruhi. "Oh!" Hisa gasped above them, hands covering her mouth in mock horror. Her two friends peered around them with the same faces of mock horror.

Izzy was going to tear that girl's hair out.

Izzy's fingers spread across Haruhi's chest, several scenarios of murder railing through her because _what was the goddamn point_ when she stilled, hand twisted in the fabric of Haruhi's blazer. Haruhi was a small, lithe teenager so Izzy wasn't expecting him to be all that firm. She also wasn't expecting the slight bulge hidden under Haruhi's blazer. Izzy's brain short-circuited "Ah?" Izzy opened her mouth but nothing really came out. She moved her hand from the slight bulge and pressed it into the carpet, pushing herself up on her hands and knees. Never mind it probably looked obscene of her. She had more things to worry about.

The first year seemed somewhat surprised but more so concerned. "Are you okay, Izabera-senpai?" Haruhi asked slowly.

No, she was not okay. None of this was okay.

"My, my," Hisa hummed from above them, hand cupping her cheek. "How clumsy of you, Giovanni-chan! You knocked Haruhi-kun down," She exclaimed in a haughty tone. As soon as she got up, she was going to knock Hisa's head from her shoulders. Before Izzy could open her mouth to tell Hisa to _shut the hell up,_ she felt hands at her waist. Hands that were much too large to belong to Haruhi. For the second time, she was pulled to her feet by Mori. He looked at Izzy and then down at Haruhi, seemingly connecting the dots because his usual stony visage cracked. His eyes widened just a bit but Izzy was close enough to see it.

Kaoru and Hikaru were suddenly there as well, both hefting Haruhi up. They looked at Izzy, faces ashen with sudden realization. Before Izzy could say anything, they grabbed Haruhi and ran the other way, all the while calling for Tamaki. "Hey, wait!" Izzy tried to take a step in their direction but Mori kept a firm grip on her. She turned back to him, intimidation for him mostly forgotten. "Mori, would you please—"

"Berry-chan! Ozawa-hime!" Honey literally popped up into her field of vision. Izzy wasn't sure if the vertically stunted third year was there the entire time or not. "We're going to miss lunch, we should all hurry!" He exclaimed. Ozawa and the nameless girls easily fell for Honey's excitable suggestion but Izzy was not fooled. She didn't move an inch, not even when the others began to head towards the dining hall. Izzy's gaze remained in the direction the twins and Haruhi had gone off to.

"Giovanni-chan," Mori uttered, breaking her stare. Her head snapped up into his direction. "Lunch is important," He reminded her in a simple tone. Izzy had the feeling that he wasn't giving her much of a choice With a helpful nudge from Mori, Izzy started towards the dining hall.

* * *

It was an odd day. Izzy felt like Mori and Honey were watching her like hawks during class time, which proved to be kind of alarming. The two weren't even trying to hide their gazes. Honey at least conversed with her but Mori opted to just stare her down. She also caught glimpses of the rest of the Host Club staring at her in between classes. That wasn't a good thing but none of them really intimidated her. Except for Mori, of course. And Kyoya. Hell if she would admit to either one. People would probably agree with her if she did bother to confess her intimidation of Mori and Kyoya though.

By the last class, Izzy decided that the new development was none of her business. As odd as it may be, Haruhi and the rest of the Hosts had their reasons. Although now she thought Haruhi's normality was out of the window. But as she said, it's none of her business. On her way to meet Fumiko, she pulled Ozawa to the side. "I don't appreciate your little stunt earlier, Ozawa," She frowned at the honey-blonde. "Knock it off."

"Oh," Ozawa pursed her lips. "Are you threatening me, Giovanni? What are you going to do, get the Mafia on me?"

Izzy took a step closer to Ozawa, scowling harshly. "You're going to wish that's what I do if you don't knock this nonsense off. You've been giving me a hard time since I got here and I don't even know why," She snapped angrily. Ozawa folded her arms across her chest and turned her her head indignantly. Izzy rolled hers eyes and opened her mouth to continue only to be interrupted. Kaoru and Hikaru sidled up her sides much like twin snakes. Ozawa quickly changed her body language, turning back into Izzy's direction.

"Hime!" they exclaimed in perfect unison. "Just the lady we were looking for," they continued to speak as one. Izzy wasn't sure which one was which but one of them had a distinctively lower voice than the other.

"I thought I told you not to call me that," She pointed out blankly.

"You told the Boss that," the one on her left pointed out.

"And that means it doesn't apply to you two as well?"

"Nope," the one on the right popped his lips.

"Of course not."

"Hikaru-kun, Kaoru-kun," Ozawa piped up, mostly forgotten. "Is there any reason why Club is cancelled today?" She asked, genuinely concerned. For some odd reason, Izzy had an odd feeling when Ozawa mentioned the Host Club. Something wasn't right but she couldn't figure out what.

"Oh, just some urgent things we have to sort out," the one on the left mused. He was the one with the noticeably lighter voice. Izzy just had to wait for them to use names. Ozawa nodded slowly, smiling in what Izzy guessed was supposed to be a flirty way.

"We have to talk to you, Hime," the one on the right suddenly said. His arm slid slowly around her waist. The other one wrapped his arm around her shoulders, halting her from getting away.

"Stop calling me that, I'm not a princess," Izzy grumbled in that same blank tone. Ozawa stared at Izzy for a hard second before offering a flirty goodbye to the twins. Izzy rolled her eyes and then glanced between the twins. "You can let go," She suggested in a low tone. Izzy was just a bit taller so the twins had to look around her instead of over head like they usually did with most girls. Izzy's eyes narrowed at the motion. Before she could force her way out of their hold, they wrapped their hands around her arms and suddenly took off.

By the time her senses caught up to her, she was being thrown into a plush chair in the host room. "Okay," She said once she got her wits about her. "I'm not sure what the meaning of this is but I'm over it," She began to stand only to have one of them force her back into the chair by her shoulders. "Get off."

He peered over her, a cheshire grin adorning his handsome features. Izzy didn't like it one bit. "If you don't sit still, Hime, we'll be forced to do something drastic."

The other one nodded, "Plan B."

"Get off of me before I hurt you."

The twins must have already planned for this because before she could make well on her threat, her arms were pinned to her sides. The other twin twined thick rope around Izzy, pinning her to the chair. Izzy only blinked, mind short circuiting for a second time because _did they just tie her to a chair?_ She thought about screaming at them but then what would that do? She was pretty sure that no one would really hear her screams, this school was huge after all and the heavy doors did a great job at muffling whatever was going on in the room. Her head dropped to her chest, curly hair creating a curtain to shield her face.

The twins regarded her quietly, wondering how long it would take for the others to come. "How old are you, Hime?" Kaoru asked.

"Seventeen," Izzy picked her head up slowly, figuring why the hell not answer their questions? She was obviously going to be there with them for quite some time.

"Ah, when's your birthday?"

"February 13th."

"Oh, you're an Aquarius just like Haruhi."

"What a coincidence, we seem to have more things in common than I originally thought."

"Well look who has a sense of humor."

"Every once and awhile."

The twins chuckled at Izzy's dry wit. "Do you have any special talents?" Hikaru decided to join in on twenty questions. Izzy was being agreeable, which was odd since they essentially kidnapped and tied her to a chair. They figured there would be a lot of screaming coming from her.

"I wouldn't call them special but I dance and play instruments."

"What kind of instruments?"

Izzy shrugged a shoulder, "Most instruments, really."

"Are you a musical prodigy?"

Another shrug, "I've been called that before."

"What kind of dancing do you do?"

Izzy frowned, hazel eyes straying to the side. "Ballroom, ballet, salsa, tango, the usual dances."

"Have you ever competed seriously?"

"Not since I started high school."

The french doors open before the twins could ask her anything else. For some odd reason, she wasn't as annoyed as she should be as the rest of the Host Club filed in. To her utter amusement, they all paused at the sight they're presented with. So tying girls to chairs wasn't a normal thing. What a surprise. "Hey," She greeted tonelessly.

"What…" Tamaki sputtered at the sight. "What is the meaning of this? Are you two crazy? Why is she tied up like that?! You can tie her up like that, she's a princess!"

They seemed more surprised and appalled than she was, which made her snort boyishly. "Because I think she might be willing to actually hit us," Hikaru answered seriously. "Besides, she said she's no princess," He pointed out Izzy's disdain for the nickname. Silence fell over the group. Now that there wasn't other girls around, Izabera might actually hit one of them. So perhaps tying her up wasn't such a bad idea.

"You guys are being ridiculous. You can't tie a person up like this," Haruhi pointed out in an exasperated tone. "Untie her right now."

"I think they might have a point, Haruhi," Tamaki said slowly, somewhat uncomfortable with how calm and non-responsive Izzy was being. Since he's met the girl, she's been quite fiery. Her behavior now reminded him of the calm before a storm. A lot like Mori losing his temper.

"Can we _please_ just get on with this?" Izzy rolled her eyes. "I have things to do, not to mention my cousin is probably wondering where I am."

"Fumiko-hime went home," Kyoya finally spoke. "We told her you were seeking extra lessons after classes ended. She understood."

Izzy's icy facade cracked for a nanosecond before recovering. "You think of everything, don't you?" She asked rhetorically.

"That's not the point, the point is we were informed you and Haruhi took a fall today," Kyoya spoke smoothly like this was some business deal and Izzy wasn't tied to a damn chair.

"So?" Izzy asked blandly. "I've known you for about a week and I can confidently say you're not one to beat around the bush," She briskly stated. "So, as I've said before, I've got things to do."

Kyoya didn't falter under Izzy's words, not that she expected him to. "It's come to our attention that you may know something about our dear Haruhi," he motioned to said brunette, who looked just as fed up as Izzy.

"What? That Haruhi is actually a girl? I don't really care."

Tamaki shoved his face into hers, gripping the armrests with strength she didn't know he possessed. "Y-You don't?" He asked slowly, like he didn't really believe her words.

Izzy scowled at him. "Get out of my face," She hissed in annoyance. "And _no_ , I really don't care. I mean, granted, it's odd that she's masquerading as a boy to waltz these girls into a stupor but everyone has their kinks and I'm usually not one to judge.." She tried her best to shrug. Tamaki looked over his shoulder at Kyoya, at a loss for words. He really expected Izzy to put up more of a fight. She'd come across some damning information against the Host Club and she wasn't going to use it?

"I feel like you are one to judge. Harshly," Hikaru commented with a hint of dry humor to his tone. A wan smile pulled at Izzy's plump lips.

"Look, you've got your reasons, I'm sure, but I really don't care. I think the entire idea of your Host Club is ridiculous and her situation, whatever that may be, fits right in. So, if you would _please_ untie me, that would be wonderful. I won't ask again," Izzy's wan smile became tight. Tamaki backed away from the woman. He still had no idea what Izzy was capable of. Any girl that could resist any one of their charms was a dangerous foe. Kyoya nodded slowly, as if he was pondering her words. She wasn't fooled.

"Very well, Giovanni-hime," He nodded while ignoring when she rolled her eyes at the title. "But do keep in mind," his head twitched and suddenly his glasses glinted ominously. "The Ootori family possesses a private police force of nearly over 100. Remember that before making any decisions pertaining to Haruhi's true gender."

Izzy cocked her head back, "did you just threaten me?"

"Take it how you see fit."

"Untie me right now."

"What are you going to do if we untie you?" Kaoru asked with some obvious concern hinted in his voice.

"I'm going to hit him with this chair."

Haruhi snorted into her palm. Tamaki paled, the twins laughed while Honey and Mori remained unaffected by her threat. "I'm sure you will, hime," Kyoya commented in that same cool tone.

"Hime, you can't hit people with chairs," Tamaki spoke slowly, somewhat afraid of the older girl. "It's not...well...it's just not nice."

"Yes but tying someone up and subtly threatening them is?" Izzy quirked a sculpted brow. Tamaki opened his mouth but snapped it closed after realizing she had a valid point. "Yeah, didn't think so," She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, wincing when the rope dug into her chest.

Honey threw himself into her lap, momentarily surprising her. "You really won't tell anyone about Haru-chan, will you?" He asked, turning his freakishly large and watery eyes on her. Izzy faltered under the gaze, trying to remain stoney faced but failing in misery.

"No, Honey-chan," She sighed once more. "I really won't tell anyone about Haruhi, don't worry," She told him in a softer tone. Mori leaned over her, deft fingers quickly undoing the knots. Izzy tried to subtly lean away as the ropes loosened until they fell into her lap. She pursed her lips, inhaling in relief once the pressure was gone. She rubbed at her arms, hoping she didn't have rope burn.

"You okay, Izabera-senpai?" Haruhi asked when Izzy stood up. Izzy gathered the rope in her arms and shoved it at the twins with an evil look in her eye.

"As good as I can get after being kidnapped, tied up and threatened," Izzy shrugged nonchalantly. There was a spark of amusement in her eyes but it was gone in an instant. "But if it ever happens again, I _will_ hit someone with a chair. Probably Tamaki. Or Kyoya. Maybe both," Izzy busily dusted her dress off, ignoring Tamaki's nervous expression. For some odd reason, he felt like Izzy would hit him first. And hard. The brunette turned to him with a blank look and then slowly smiled. Tamaki hid behind Mori. Izzy huffed a laugh and shook her head, muttering about her luck in Italian. "Well, if the interrogation is over," She ceased her muttering to look at Kyoya. He shot her a false smile. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'm leaving. _Arrivederci_."

She left before they could stop her, eager to get back to Chihiro's home. She dug through her schoolbag in search of her phone, cursing her dress' lack of pockets. A headache began pulsing at her temples as she requested for a car to come pick her up. "This school is ridiculous," Izzy muttered while throwing her phone back into her bag. She decided to wait outside since the weather was still so nice. She settled at one of the ornate fountains, dipping the tips of her fingers into the water. "God, why is this my life?"

"You know talking to yourself is a sign of an impending mental collapse."

Izzy tried hard not to jump but frowned tightly when she turned to look at Haruhi. "Dealing with you and your friends, I'm surprised it hasn't already happened," She retorted blankly. "It won't be long, I suspect," She continued in that same tone. Haruhi let out a small laugh and sat down next to Izzy, not bothering to wait for an invitation to do so. Izzy raised a brow at this but said nothing about it.

"I just wanted to apologize for…." Haruhi trailed off with a thoughtful look. "Well... _them_. They….they mean well and really didn't mean any harm."

A sly grin pulled at Izzy's lips, reminding Haruhi of a surly cat. "Yes, well, no one really means any harm when they've kidnapped a person, do they?" the older brunette asked rhetorically. Haruhi rolled her eyes into Izzy's direction. "I knew there was something off about you but I couldn't place it," Izzy admitted after a pause.

"I thought you didn't care."

Izzy's face darkened just a bit. "I _don't,"_ She stressed. "It was just an observation made the first day I was dragged to the Host Club," Izzy shrugged almost apathetically. She glanced at Haruhi, an odd look in her eye. "Well, will you explain how—" she raised her hand towards Haruhi and waved it fleetingly. "— _this_ came about?"

"Sounds like you care, Izabera-senpai."

Izzy's head rolled into Haruhi's direction but Haruhi ignored the look. Instead, she heeded Izzy's request and told her all about the beginning of her school year and meeting the Host Club members. To her surprise, Izzy seemed rather amused with the story and listened with rapt fascination. "So you mean to tell me that you've been roped into this mess because of some poorly placed vase?" Izzy asked after Haruhi was done spinning her tale of joining the Host Club. "I'm sure they could have easily replaced that vase. I bet it was an ugly vase too.."

"It was a priceless Renaissance vase."

Izzy rolled her eyes. "Rich people are ridiculous…"

Haruhi gave her a funny look. "You're a rich person, Izabera-senpai…"

Izzy twisted a stray curl around her finger. "Oh, well, yes, I suppose so. My parents didn't raise me to be so…" Izzy paused for a moment, trying to think of a word. Her father had a rather normal upbringing, not becoming part of high society until around the time she was born. Alphonse was humble in the sense that Masami was not and made sure to raise his children just as humbly despite the abundance of wealth that surrounded them. "They didn't raise me to be so pretentious. My grandfather was a carpenter and my grandmother was a seamstress until she began to raise her children."

"Oh," Haruhi blinked rapidly. "I didn't know that. What does your father do?"

"He owned a winery business and built it up from there. He's branched off into fashion, jewerly, banking and real-estate," Izzy explained rather proudly. "Mama mostly helps him keep it all afloat. She had a lot of experience in business when she was growing up."

"I think Kyoya-senpai mentioned something about your mother being the former heiress to an automobile company so I guess that would explain her experience growing up?"

"It unnerves me that he seems to know so much."

Haruhi chuckled just as an expensive car came to a rolling spot outside of the gates. Izzy squinted at the car, spotting Morimoto's insignia. "Would you like a ride home, Haruhi?" She asked while standing up.

"No, that's fine," Haruhi stood as well. Izzy swiped her bag up and noticed just how short Haruhi was compared to her. Even Fumiko had some height over her and Fumiko was pretty short. "Thanks for the offer though, Senpai."

To Haruhi's surprise, Izzy gave her a genuine smile. "Very well. Have a safe trip home."

* * *

"So you punched him in the face?" Izzy asked while padding through the house Sunday afternoon. "Not your best decision, Vinny," She chuckled into the phone while ducking into the kitchen. She grabbed a bowl of fruit from the fridge and settled at the island, all the while laughing at her brother's latest fiasco.

" _Well, what was I supposed to do, Lala?"_

"I don't know, not punch our cousin in the face?"

" _Matteo deserved it. You know how much he pisses me off anyway. Conceited ass, he is."_

Izzy chewed loudly, knowing it would irritate Vincente. "I still think you could have handled that differently, Vinny. You aren't children," Izzy said through a grin. "What did Mama and Papa say about it?"

" _That's rich coming from you, Lala. You've punched Matteo in the face before and on top of that, broke his nose. And they didn't say much. Matteo's mother wasn't happy about it but you know how much of a harpy that woman is."_

"Well, he was being sexist, what was I supposed to do?" Izzy snorted and rolled her eyes. "I'll never understand why _Zio_ Gabriel married Carlotta in the first place. Papa said she was a harpy from the start."

" _Papa said she had great legs."_

"And now he's stuck with a harpy with great legs for a wife. And a stupid son. Great going, _Zio_ Gabe," Izzy waved her fork in the air to punctuate her point. "I'm surprised they haven't divorced yet, they clearly hate one another."

" _Where's Zia Chi and Fufu? It sounds quiet,"_ Vincente easily changed the subject.

"They went shopping. They wanted me to come along but you know how I feel about shopping," Izzy shrugged blandly. "I got enough of that with _Zia_ Vivi," She rolled her eyes but smiled at the thought of their redheaded aunt. That woman exasperated her to no end but she missed the woman.

A young maid suddenly breezed by towards the front door. Her name was Aimi and she was one of the few maids that Izzy got along well with. Izzy only glanced over her shoulder but quickly went back to her conversation with her brother. "Izabera-chan!" Aimi called back. "You have visitors!"

"Mn?" Izzy frowned and got up slowly, telling Vicente to hold on for a second. She hurried to the front door, frowning at Aimi's blushing face. "Who is it?" She asked, opening the door wide enough to peer out. All color drained from her face and she quickly slammed the door shut. "Oh hell," She swore under her breath, forgetting that her brother was still on the phone.

" _Did you just curse? You know how Mama and Papa feel about your cursing, Lala."_

"Oh shut up. What are you going to do, Vinny? Tell on me?" She snapped into the phone. "It's partially your fault anyway. You, Lonny and Franky constantly cursed around me growing up. What did you expect?"

" _We expected you to be a proper young lady and not take after us."_

"Oh whatever," Izzy snapped into the phone.

"Izabera-chan!" Aimi gasped loudly. "What's gotten into you? You can't just slam the door in those poor boys' faces! That's not polite at all!"

" _Boys? Did she say boys?"_

"You can understand Japanese, Vinny?"

" _A little but that's not the point! There's boys there while Zia Chi isn't home?"_

"That's not the case, Vin."

"Izabera-chan, they're still knocking."

"I can hear them, Aimi. Ignore it. They'll go away."

" _What the hell is going on, Isabella?"_

Izzy couldn't think straight with all the noise going on around her. With a quick goodbye to Vinny, Izzy hung the phone up and shoved her phone into the waistband of her yoga pants. She grabbed the door handle and whipped it open, glaring fiercely at the intruders. "Stop that!" She snapped and smacked Tamaki's hand away from the door. Why the Host Club was standing on her doorstep was beyond her but it explained why Aimi was blushing like some fourteen year old girl.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, already feeling a migraine coming on before anyone even opened their mouths. "Izabera-hime!" Tamaki flew at Izzy with arms stretched wide. Izzy took a small step to the side and watched blankly as Tamaki face planted the floor.

"Charming," She uttered blandly while looking down at the fallen blond. Honey inched forward, squatting down to poke at Tamaki's leg. "I hope he's not dead, I can't shut the door if he's lying right there," Izzy continued while folding her arms across her chest.

"I think she might be more brutal than Haruhi," Hikaru said thoughtfully. Kaoru rubbed his chin thoughtfully, glancing in between the brunettes. There was a lot of similarities between the two girls. He agreed along with his brother. Izabera seemed even more cruel, aloof and blank than Haruhi.

Izzy sighed heavily. "Get up, Tamaki. You'll ruin the floors and they just finished mopping," She shook her head and moved away, walking down the hallway. "And come in, don't just stand in the doorway. I'll doubt you'll go away at this point…" She called back to them. Aimi smiled as they shuffled inside the house, laughing nervously when Tamaki peeled himself up off the floor to follow after his friends.

They filed into the large living room, settling down in various spots. Tamaki and the twins got up only seconds after sitting down to study the large collection of photos framed around the living room. "Ah, look, it's Izabera-hime! Why are you dressed like that?" Tamaki pointed out one particular picture of Izzy right before high school. She was dressed in a black top with lace sleeves, a blood red skirt with a high slit and very high heels. "It looks recent."

Izzy peered over his shoulder and let out a noise of discontent. "I didn't know she had that picture," Izzy frowned thoughtfully. "I was doing a salsa dance for a fundraiser event for my family a couple of months ago," She folded her arms while studying the picture of herself in the middle of a twirl. Hikaru and Kaoru crowded around her, shoving Tamaki out of the way to look at the picture.

"Ooooh," they spoke in unison and Izzy didn't even try to figure out who was who. "Wow, Hime, you sure do have long legs," Kaoru whistled. "Are you sure you don't want to model any of our clothes? You would make a great model."

"No," Izzy replied flatly. "I've gotten enough of that from my Aunt Vivi."

"Vivi?"

"Aunt Viviana, she's a fashion designer."

Hikaru blinked owlishly. " _Viviana_ is your aunt?" He asked as if he really couldn't believe it. Izzy quirked an eyebrow and shrugged but nodded. "You're nothing alike," He stated, amazed that Izzy was related to the larger than life fashion designer. Izzy rolled her eyes and shook her head this time before losing interest.

"Anyone want to explain why you all decided to show up out of the blue?" She asked, looking around the room. Tamaki and the twins kept their backs turned, busily ogling the photos. "Or how you even knew where I lived?" She asked. Haruhi, Honey and Mori turned to look at Kyoya. Izzy twisted her mouth in an attempt to stave off a sigh. "Right. That was a stupid question."

"There's a moon-viewing festival later today," Haruhi decided to speak up. Nine times out of ten, Izzy wouldn't yell at her for the stupid idea the Host Club had come up with. "Usually I don't care to go or not but they wanted to experience a festival thrown by commoners," Haruhi shrugged, apathetic to their plans.

"Right...well...what's that got to do with showing up on my doorstep?"

"Hika-chan and Kao-chan thought it would be a great idea to invite you, Berry-chan," Honey spoke up with a wide smile. Honey was also one they were sure Izzy wouldn't yell at. While she was mostly immune to their attractive features, she still fell for his cute face. They doubted she would admit to it though.

"Did they?" Izzy looked towards the twins, noticing their backs stiffening under her gaze. "How thoughtful of them," She continued in that icy tone. Unlike Haruhi and Honey, Izzy was ready and willing to yell at the twins. She crouched down to Honey's height and smiled kindly. "Isn't that thoughtful, Honey-chan?" She asked in a sweet voice. The others weren't fooled by her words. "Unfortunately, I must decline."

Honey's face fell and he hugged Usa-chan closely to his chest. Tamaki was suddenly crouching next to her, frowning dramatically. "Why?" He whined while looking as if he wanted to hug her again. Izzy's eyes narrowed in his direction, a silent warning to nix the idea.

"I decided today would be the perfect day to study. Chi and Fu are both out shopping and I've finally got some peace and quiet."

"Studying?" Hikaru leaned over the three with his hands on his hips. "That's boring, Hime! You always have your nose in a book. Aren't your eyes getting tired from all of that reading?" He asked as Izzy placed her elbow on knee to cup her face.

"I take it you don't read much," She muttered with eyes closed.

"She's just like Haruhi," Kaoru grinned from his spot by the picture frames. "Always studying. Why don't you give it a rest for the day, Hime?"

"Give that stupid nickname a rest."

"What are we supposed to call you?"

"My name?"

"Can we call you Berry-chan like Honey-senpai?"

"Ew, no. The way you say it makes it sound so wrong."

"We're getting off track," Kyoya finally spoke up. He tried to say it with a smile but the fact that he was growing impatient was evident in his tone. The twins ceased their bickering with Izzy about nicknames immediately.

"Mommy is right," Tamaki shot to his feet, ignoring Izzy's confused ' _mommy?'_ comment. "Izabera…." He paused with a thoughtful look. "Izabera- _senpai_ , hurry to get dressed so we can leave at once. We don't like arriving to functions late."

"I know you just heard me decline the offer, Tamaki. I wasn't speaking Italian when I said I must decline. No means no," Izzy rolled her eyes and stood to her own height. She was still a bit shorter than Tamaki but not by much. Besides, her fierce glare made up for it.

The blond frowned and sighed dramatically. Izzy was beginning to think that anything Tamaki did was dramatic. It was his personality. "Well, I suppose you've left us with no choice, Izabera-senpai," He shook his head forlornly. Izzy cocked her hip to the side and folded her arms. "Mori-senpai," He looked over her shoulder, ignoring her confused expression. "Plan B, if you will."

The last time a 'Plan B' was mentioned, she was tied up. "Oh no, no more Plan B's," She began to turn in Mori's direction only to let out a squeal of surprise when the room spun. Izzy was swept off her feet in an instant, settled over Mori's shoulder before she could figure out what was going on. "Are you serious right now?" She shrieked angrily. "You put me down right now, Mori! I mean it!" Izzy's face turned red and she started to squirm relentlessly.

"I don't think that was necessary," Haruhi managed over Izzy's shouts of protest. "When you said you wanted to be friends with her and wanted her to come along, this is not what I had in mind. She already threatened you for kidnapping her once already. We're going to do it again?" She asked while rolling her eyes. Izzy's began shouting in Italian.

"I'm not sure about what she's saying but I'm certain it's not fitting for a proper young lady," Hikaru grinned mischievously.

Mori shifted Izzy on his shoulder, clamping his hand down tightly when she nearly teetered too far over his shoulder. "Stop moving or you'll fall," He warned simply when she paused to take a deep breath.

"Alright," Tamaki clapped his hands. "Let's go. We'll have to provide Izabera-senpai with proper clothing so let's get a move on."

Izzy groaned when they began moving towards the front door. They passed Aimi on the way, who, once she saw Izzy perched on Mori's shoulder, began sputtering in question. Kyoya stepped in at that point, smoothly explaining where she would be for the rest of the day.

"Don't worry, Berry-chan," Honey and Haruhi fell behind Mori to talk to Izzy. "You'll have lots of fun tonight, Usa-chan says so!"

"Sorry about this," Haruhi apologized serenly. "But once they've got an idea in their heads, there's no stopping them. It's better to just go along with whatever they've got planned," She shook her head but Izzy took notice of her small smile.

"I cannot believe what my life has spiraled into," Izzy whined while placing her elbow into Mori's back. A very strong back, she noted. Her face flushed but she quickly shook it away. She leaned her chin against her fist and looked down at Haruhi and Honey. She _really_ hoped Mori wouldn't drop her on her face.

Her pride was bruised enough.

* * *

TeeBeMe: Torturing Izzy is more fun than Xin sometimes lol. Read, review, favorite and follow. See yall next update.


	5. Don't be cruel

"I'm not wearing that."

"But Hime, it's a festival."

"You have to wear one."

Izzy stood in an elaborate dressing room with the twins, arms folded stubbornly across her chest. "What's wrong with the clothes I'm wearing right now?" She asked sourly. The twins made a show of looking her up and down, frowning innocently all the while. Izzy was not fooled.

"Well, for one, you're not wearing any shoes," Hikaru pointed out wryly, grinning when Izzy's face light up in either embarrassment or frustration. He was certain that it was frustration.

"I'm not wearing any shoes because you decided to drag me out of my house!"

"Technically, Mori-senpai carried you out of your house," Kaoru chimed in simply. Izzy rolled her lips together and closed her eyes, inhaling sharply through her nose. Honestly, she had no idea why the Host Club insisted on kidnapping her to join them in some silly festival.

"Is there any specific reason why you've decided that I'm required to come to this outing of yours?" She asked after a couple of seconds of breathing through her nose. Kaoru grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her towards the unusually large vanity. Izzy blinked indifferently at her reflection, letting Kaoru pull her hair from it's ponytail. Hikaru vanished into the large collection of clothes, ignoring any of Izzy's protests. Not that she really had any for the moment. It's not like they were keen to listen to her. She had a feeling they often didn't listen to anyone.

"The boss decided that since you know about Haruhi," Kaoru began to explain. Izzy watched him through the mirror, noting that his voice wasn't as deep as the other one's voice. She was almost sure that he was Kaoru. "You should be her friend, he's convinced she needs more girl friends."

"Must be hard when you're masquerading as a boy and seducing the girls that could potentially be your friends."

"You're turning out to be a snarky woman."

Izzy snorted and twisted her face up when Kaoru pulled a little too hard on her hair. "If Haruhi wants to be friends, that's all _she_ had to say. I think kidnapping me again was overkill. And did any of you even bother to ask if she wants to be friends with me? I'm two years older than her, it's not like we have a lot in common."

"You two have more in common than you think," Kaoru grinned just as Hikaru came back with armfuls of expensive clothing. Izzy sighed heavily, all too used to being a dress up dummy.

"Should I even ask how you got my measurements?"

"Kyoya."

"Ah."

She leaned forward, balancing her chin in her hands while Hikaru held the clothing up for her to see in the reflection of the mirror. At least they were giving her options, she guessed. Izzy mostly refused the dresses and yukatas, giving Hikaru the evil eye any time he suggested it. "Is Haruhi wearing a dress or yukata?"

"Probably not."

"Then neither am I."

"But Hime…"

"No buts!" Izzy stood up in a flourish, hands on her hips. "I know you boys don't hear it often but no means _no_. If I have to repeat myself one more time, I _will_ slap one of you," Izzy threatened with a slight snarl. Kaoru and Hikaru held their hands up in surrender, both leaning away from the leggy brunette. Izzy continued to glare at them, gaze only faltering when she heard the door handle turn.

The door opened and Haruhi, Mori and Honey peeked in. Izzy only quirked a brow at them. "We heard you shouting and Tamaki-senpai wanted to know if everything was okay," Haruhi explained without anyone asking her to.

"Why didn't he just come see for himself?"

"Because you threatened to hit him with a chair."

Izzy looked thoughtful but then shrugged. "And he sent Mori and Honey along to…"

"Restrain you if you were trying to kill them."

Izzy only blinked, looking at Honey with a soft frown. "Right…" She trailed off unbelievably. Mori she could understand but Honey? What was the pint sized black hole going to do? Eat her like a cupcake? She kept those sarcastic thoughts to herself. "I'm not going to kill them," She stated while folding her arms across her chest. None of them look convinced and Izzy didn't try hard to convince them.

The trio left Izzy and twins alone after that. Deciding not to inflict her wrath upon them, the twins left the dresses and yukatas alone. The trio came to the choice of wearing jeans with a high waist, a plain white t-shirt and a short denim jacket. Her wild mass of curls was somehow tamed into a high ponytail with several strands left unbound to frame her face. Hikaru tried to innocently suggest makeup. Izzy stared blankly at him for just a second before leaning over to slap the back of his head. "I told you I would slap one of you," She said in a bland voice while straightening up. "Now come on, let's get this over with."

The brunette followed after the devil twins towards a large sitting room. Her eyes studied the decor, noting and appreciating it's chic design. She was so busy scrutinizing the room, she barely had time to dodge out of Tamaki's excited embrace. "Stop it," She sighed heavily like she was dealing with one of her rambunctious younger cousins.

"But my White Lily," his amethyst eyes were shining like polished jewels. It unnerved Izzy. "You look absolutely stunning," He grinned down at her, hand managing to snake around her waist. Izzy sighed once more and wriggled in his grasp before shoving him away with one delicate hand on his chest. She was stronger than she looked.

"I'm not a fan girl nor am I paying customer, Tamaki. You can drop the act. Honestly, just be yourself."

The tall blond seemed to come apart at her words, shattering loudly in an almost comedic way. Izzy frowned in confusion and took a careful step back, looking at the remaining Host Club for guidance.

"He _is_ being himself, Giovanni-hime," Kyoya remarked coolly.

"Oh, how unfortunate," Izzy took another step away from the blond. She looked slightly put out but only shrugged her shoulders. "Can we go now?" She reached up towards the end of her ponytail, twirling it around her finger. "And I'm not wearing heels so you put those back where you found them this instant," She turned a scathing eye on one of the twins. Kaoru grinned sheepishly but put the black pumps away as instructed. His brother offered a more sensible pair of canvas shoes.

Izzy followed the group to the lot of cars, rolling her eyes. Did they have to show up to a regular neighborhood in cars worth thousands? But she kept her complaints to herself and slid into the car, sitting in between Haruhi and Honey. The pint-sized third year kept the both of them occupied the entire car ride, not that either brunette minded. Izzy quite liked Honey, finding his ramblings of sweets worrisome but entertaining.

Izzy would never admit it but she did enjoy the outing, even if Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru tended to be a bit _much_ at times. The Festivals in Italy were different from Japanese Festivals but she found she quite liked them, so far. There were bright lanterns, lion and dragon dances, delicious foods, games and mooncakes.

"I wonder if they'll just get upset and try to buy the vendor out," Izzy wondered blankly. She was perched on a bench next to Mori, twirling a long stick of dango in between her fingers. Kyoya stood next to the bench. Across them at a game stall, Haruhi was trying to teach Tamaki, the twins and Honey the rules of a seemingly simple game.

"Give them some credit," Kyoya replied simply. Izzy snorted in a fashion deemed unladylike. She pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows. She didn't look nor was she convinced but she didn't say anything to rebuttal Kyoya's statement.

"I'll go buy more of these, I'm sure Honey will want a sweet after a disappointing loss," Izzy motioned towards the game stall that occupied the group. She got up and ventured towards the closest stall selling sweets. She bought seven sticks, five for Honey and two for her. She'd consume way too many sweets for her liking and would no doubt regret it when it settled at her hips. She checked her watch, blinking in surprise. It had gotten quite late. Fumiko must be wondering where she was.

When Izzy returned with the skewered treats, she smiled in amusement at the sight of Honey's gloomy face. "They're rigged, you know," She pointed out, leaning over while holding a skewer of dango in front of his face. "I wouldn't worry too much, yeah?" Izzy offered a smile when Honey's face light up. "People barely win these things," She reassured him, watching in slight concern as he devoured the first stick of dango. She silently offered the next one.

"That doesn't seem very fair," Honey pouted after devouring a dumpling whole. Izzy watched him with a frown, just waiting for him to choke on the dessert.

"No, I suppose it's not but some people don't know how to give up," She motioned to Tamaki, who much to her amusement, was still trying his hand at the game. "Regular people have to make their money too," She grinned prettily at the ridiculous sight of Tamaki losing once more.

"I bet Takashi can win a game," Honey stated around a pout. Izzy raised a brow and handed him yet another skewer. She glanced to her right, having taken the seat in between Honey and Mori and tilted her head to the side. Mori didn't bother to comment, neither agreeing with nor denying Honey's statements. He continued to slouch into the bench, arms casually folded across his broad chest.

"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if he could win a game. Just to spite Tamaki," Izzy's grin widened accompanied by impish laughter shared with Honey. Despite her nerves when it came to her classmate, she leaned towards Mori with an amused grin. "How about it, Mori? Would you like to play a game?" She prompted in good nature.

Mori's lids snapped over, stormy eyes flickering towards her. She tried not to jump away, instead offering her grin. She thought that maybe spending the day in his company would ease her nerves and maybe it worked just a bit. But certainly not enough. She was determined to have an amicable relationship with Mori. "Sure," He answered simply, standing up to his full height. Izzy blinked, not quite aware of his agreeable nature. Even so, she shrugged and climbed to her feet. She watched in amusement as Honey literally climbed Mori's body to settle on his shoulders.

She turned to tell Kyoya of their plans but the bespectacled young man only held up his hand in a fleeting wave. "Don't break anything," He warned without looking up. Izzy snorted and shook her head, darting after Mori and Honey.

"Let's try that one," Honey pointed to a random booth. Izzy glanced at it, distractedly handing him his fourth skewer.

"Oh, gun-shooting," She hummed while approaching the booth. She glanced to side, quietly reading the rules. "So all I have to do is knock the prize over and I win? Sounds easy enough," Izzy handed the remaining dango over to Mori. She snorted again when she heard Mori quietly remind Honey that two of the skewered sweets were hers. Her eyes scanned the row of small prizes, brightening at the sight of a small stuffed panther. She had three corks to shoot and knock the thing over with. Izzy took careful aim and shot the her three shots, letting out a curse when the panther barely budged. "It's rigged," She huffed indignantly. She placed the plastic gun down and accepted her dango back from Mori. Izzy took note that Honey was devouring the last of his dango.

Honey jumped from Mori's shoulders, clinging to Izzy's leg. "Takashi will win it," He reassured her confidently. Izzy noticed that he was eyeing her dango. He already had five, he wasn't getting hers. To make a point, she shoved the sweets into her mouth.

"I don't doubt it," She hummed, nearly laughing at Honey's look of dejection. While Mori focused on aiming ( _apparently he took this quite serious_ ) Izzy took notice of a gaggle of girls standing not too far from them. They seemed pretty young, maybe around Haruhi's age and they were currently staring at them. Izzy quirked a brow, realizing they were specifically staring at Mori. She ate the last of her dango and tossed the sticks in the nearby trash can but her eyes never strayed from the gaggle of girls. She laid one arm just under her chest and placed her elbow in the palm of her hand to cup her cheek. A low thoughtful hum strummed from her throat, garnering Honey's silent attention.

She wasn't that surprised that the girls took notice of him. He was terribly handsome, after all. Vaguely she wondered if he purposely tailored his shirts a size too small. She was so entranced with the material stretching taunt across his broad frame that she missed the sound of his toy gun going off. She blinked out of a stupor and turned towards Mori just as he turned towards her. "Oh," She blinked in surprise and her eyebrows shot up her forehead when she was suddenly presented with the stuffed panther she failed to win. "You won?" She found herself stupidly asking. "Are you….is this for me? I can have it?" Izzy asked, eyes darting from the stuffed toy to Mori. He wasn't looking at her, remaining the epitome of cool and collected.

Izzy reached out slowly, like she expected him to snatch the stuffed toy away. She was acting entirely juvenile over a stuffed toy but the gesture was kind. Her cheeks smarted and the ends of her mouth curled into a smile. "Thank you," She managed to breath, accepting the stuffed panther, pulling it to her chest.

"I told you, Berry-chan!" Honey exclaimed loudly, breaking her out of her whirling thoughts. "I told you Takashi could win," He seemed entirely too proud and smug. Izzy glanced down at him before crouching to his height. The two marveled over the cheaply made stuffed toy, both seeming like impressed children.

"Mm, I didn't doubt either of you, did I?" Izzy grinned widely and stood to her height. Honey resumed his perch at Mori's shoulders, grinning just as wide as she. "It's getting late and we have school tomorrow. We should be getting back," Izzy said thoughtfully when they turned in the general direction of where they left Kyoya. "But, ah, how about some mooncakes?" She pointed to a stall selling them and ventured closer. "Oh! They have some coffee filling."

"Haru-chan likes coffee," Honey commented sweetly, garnering Izzy's attention. More girls were beginning to stare at the duo, causing her to smile weakly. Whether surrounded by the wealthy or the 'commoners', the Host Club's members just attracted attention. Izzy wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. She supposed that if no one was paying her any mind, it didn't bother her and they seemed used to it.

"Yeah? Then maybe we should bring her one to try?"

When the three finally caught up with the rest of the Host Club, Izzy took immediate notice of Tamaki's dejected expression. "Ah, couldn't win a prize?" She mused sadistically at the blond. "Maybe next time, yeah?"

"Are those mooncakes, Hime?" Kaoru prompted, noticing Honey and Izzy munching on the snacks. Mori carried the rest of their purchases, keeping Honey from devouring them all in one go.

"Oh, yeah. They had ones with coffee-filling and I wanted you to try it, Haruhi," Izzy turned to Mori and picked the coffee-filled treat up, offering it to the younger brunette. Haruhi didn't have it in her to tell the older girl that she'd often tried them before. Izzy and Honey seemed quite proud of themselves for remembering her preference to coffee.

"Who knew you could be so sweet, Hime?" Kaoru cooed.

"Did you get any for the rest of us?"

"Nope."

* * *

"Where have you been all day?" Fumiko asked as she blew into Izzy's room. Izzy turned an apathetic gaze on her younger cousin. She was dressed in dark blue silk pajamas with her hair tamed into another low ponytail, clearly ready for bed. "Vinny called Mama about you going out with boys? What's that about?"

Izzy pinched the bridge of her nose and filed that information away. As soon as she got the chance, she was going to curse Vincente to hell. Leave him to blab to her Aunt about the damn Host Club visiting. He sometimes had a motormouth but he wasn't nearly as bad as Alonzo. "He was exaggerating," Izzy replied smoothly, turning back to her vanity. "I didn't go out with boys."

Nevermind she barely considered the Host Club _human beings._ They were too damn weird.

"So where have you been all day?"

Fumiko was easily Izzy's best friend and she didn't like to lie to the younger girl. However, something told her that if she told Fumiko about her odd day out, Fumiko would blow a gasket. Izzy did not want to experience such a thing. "Sightseeing," Izzy replied blankly after a beat.

"By yourself?"

"It was peaceful," She continued in that same blank tone of hers. Fumiko looked barely convinced but left it alone. She came over, plopping down on the bench next to the brunette. She sighed heavily and slumped her shoulders, grabbing Izzy's attention. "Something wrong, Fufu?" She frowned, turning to look at her fully.

"Papa called mama while we were out. He was supposed to come home soon but now he can't. Another big case he can't pass up."

Izzy instantly frowned sadly and inched closer to Fumiko. "I'm sorry to hear that, Fu," She drew her arm around Fumiko, hugging her to her side. She laid her head on Fumiko's head and rubbed her shoulder. She knew how much Uncle Shun meant to Fumiko and that fact that he was putting off his return must have really hurt her.

"Did this ever happen with Uncle Al?"

"When I was younger," Izzy answered. "But my brothers usually kept me too occupied to be upset," Izzy continued to explain. Growing up, her parents were extremely busy with their work but her brothers and endless amount of cousins often made up for it. But Fumiko was an only child and she was probably used to being disappointed.

"I wish Papa had a normal job that didn't make him travel," Fumiko complained. "That way, he'd be home more often."

"I can't see Uncle Shun having a normal job," Izzy mused at the thought of Chihiro's exuberant husband. "He has too much... _personality_ ," Izzy grinned wryly and squeezed Fumiko's shoulder. "Cheer up, Fufu. He'll be home before you know it."

Fumiko didn't look convinced and Izzy didn't try any harder to convince her. "So, what did you guys buy today?" She prompted after a quiet moment. She didn't care for shopping but she'd do anything to distract her usually bubbly cousin. She hated seeing her sad. Fumiko took the bait, jumping out of her funk and into a fast-paced conversation about everything she and Chihiro purchased that day. It was a lot and most of it went over Izzy's head but she was grateful that Fumiko's spirits were lifted.

Chihiro peeked into the bedroom, dressed for bed with her hair plaited into a braid over her shoulder. "It's getting late, don't you think?" She asked with a raised brow. Fumiko smiled sheepishly and stood up. "Come on, you have school in the morning," She motioned for Fumiko. Her daughter approached her with the same sheepish smile, quietly apologizing for staying up later than usual.

Izzy watched silently as Chihiro hugged and kissed Fumiko goodnight before sending her off to bed. She missed Masami's goodnight hugs but shook the feeling off. She couldn't just mope about being in Japan the entire time, it wasn't like she wasn't going back to Italy at the end of the year. Shaking her head, she stood up to wish Chihiro a good night when her aunt leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. The gesture caught her off guard but accepted it with a small smile. Chihiro quickly left in favor of her room, leaving Izzy to herself. The brunette crawled under the heavy blankets, sighing deeply and dropping down like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Now that she was alone, her mind wandered back to her day out.

Despite her initial thoughts, she did enjoy her day out. When they weren't waltzing girls into stupors, the Host Club members weren't as bad as she originally thought. Maybe they were a bit _much_ at times but they weren't completely terrible. They were a bit overbearing and didn't seem to understand the concept of _no_ but she figured that was due to the way they were raised. The wealthy often didn't hear the word no.

She figured that her being a young girl telling them no probably interested them the most. She found them all quite attractive in their own ways but found no reason to fall over herself for a few superficial compliments. It was amusing, however, to see them fall over themselves vying for Haruhi's attention. That, Izzy found entirely entertaining and ironic that in their own ways, they tried to win favor with a girl that was disinterested and indifferent to their antics. Entertaining, ironic and just...well...she supposed _odd_ but that just seemed like a good way to sum up the Host Club as a whole.

But even so, she had no intentions to seek them out for a friendship. She was leaving at the end of the year and she didn't plan on becoming attached to anyone. That included Ayame and Yuna. They were nice girls but Izzy wanted to leave with no attachments other than Chihiro and Fumiko. And Shunsuke. She barely even cared for her grandparents and the rest of the Morimoto family.

It was all just frivolous attachments she didn't need.

* * *

"Hime~!"

Izzy paused on her way to her third period class and glanced behind her, frowning blankly at the sight of Kaoru and Hikaru. She hadn't seen any of the Club members aside from Mori and Honey but the sight of the twins instantly put her on age. The last time they approached her, she was tied to a chair. "What." She turned fully to them, arms crossing over her chest defensively. If they pulled another stunt, she was going to make a scene. They circled her, grinning innocently but Izzy was not fooled nor did she find them cute. She made a show of slowly rolling her eyes but remained stoic for the most part. "Is there a particular reason for this?" She asked, patience running thin. The warning late bell had yet to ring but Izzy detested being late. She was a stickler for being on time.

"We just wanted to tell you that Club will be held out in the gardens today," Kaoru informed her with the same air of false innocence. His innocent facade seemed a bit more truthful than his brother but it wasn't enough to fool Izzy. Perhaps she didn't know them that well but Izzy had a critical eye and could easily discern personalities. She crossed her arms and cocked a hip to the side.

"Why?"

"Because it's still such a lovely day," Hikaru crooned from her right. Izzy turned her cool attention to him, eyebrow raised and generally unimpressed. Hikaru grinned widely at her. He liked this girl. She was almost as fun to pick with as Haruhi.

"No, I meant why are you telling me this? I don't care."

Harsh. But they were expecting it. She was as fun as she was ruthless and that interested the lot of them. Most girls, be it younger or older, fell easily to their charms. But Izabera was the exact opposite, fed up and even displeased with their antics. It was almost like a breath of fresh air and the twins, never ones for backing down from a challenge, was determined to get under this foreigner's skin. It helped that she was oddly short-tempered.

"Because you're attending Club today, of course," Hikaru replied easily. Izzy's chin dipped down towards her chest and her head twitched back on her neck. She opened her mouth to probably argue with them, she obviously didn't take kindly to being told what to do, but Hikaru slipped an arm around her waist and began to lead her down the hallway. Kaoru easily followed after them, smiling innocently all the while.

"And why would I do that?" She asked, finally recovered. For whatever reason, she allowed Hikaru to lead her down the grand hallways. The brunette tried her best to ignore the stares elicited from the girls. She hoped their unwanted attention wouldn't result in juvenile bullying. Girls were weirdly petty creatures and Izzy would hate to garner their attention over something she wanted no parts of.

"Because if you don't," Hikaru spoke easily. "The entire school will know about our outing yesterday. Something tells me you wouldn't enjoy the attention that would follow that announcement, Hime."

Izzy's hazel eyes became hard, resulting in a steely gaze that admittedly unnerved them. She wasn't as scary as Kyoya but their blood did run a little cold under her gaze. "Did you just threaten me?" She asked quietly, plump lips pulled into a thin line. It was quite obvious that Izzy didn't take well to threats of any kind. The last time she'd been threatened, she retaliated with her own threat of hitting Kyoya, of all people, with a chair. They were positive that had they untied her, she would have carried out her threat. Granted, Mori most likely would have intervened but who's to say she wouldn't hit him with a chair as well?

She was scary but she was still so fun.

"So you mean to tell me," She began in an airy tone before they could answer her earlier question. They were sure she wasn't really looking for an answer. "That you kidnapped me, forced me to go to some festival with you and now you're using it against me to do what you want?"

"Perhaps. If that's how you see it."

"That's exactly how I see it. I have a feeling that Kyoya is the one who told you to threaten me into complying," She stated dryly. "I get that you two are devious but that is just dark," She commented with exasperation. They didn't offer an answer, opting to simply grin at her before shooting a look at one another around her. She vaguely wondered if the fact that they were the same height bothered them. Boys were funny about height differences.

"So we'll see you at Club then," Kaoru turned his innocent grin on her when they finally stopped in front of her Literatures class. In the back of her mind, she wondered how they knew what class she'd been heading to. Deciding not to think too much about it, she shrugged out of Hikaru's hold with a scowl. Izzy didn't offer a reply, only waving a hand at them in a clear sign to tell them to get their own classes. She swept into her classroom, settling in and taking note that she managed to get there before she could be marked as late. Before she could even look up, a well-manicured hand slapped against her desktop.

She stared down at the hand with a blank expression, mood souring even more if it was even possible. "Well," Ozawa Hisa crooned from above her. Izzy inhaled deeply, reigning in her fleeting temper. "Interesting that Hikaru-kun and Kaoru-kun walked you to class, Giovanni."

"More like dragged me to class," Izzy muttered under her breath. "It's really not that interesting, Ozawa."

Hisa leaned in closer, face a couple of inches away from Izzy. "Don't think for a second that I don't know what you're up to," Hisa scowled non-prettily in Izzy's face.

"And what might that be?"

"Clearly you're trying to seduce them."

"Yes because—wait a minute," Izzy blinked at the honey-blonde. "I'm trying to _what_?" Izzy choked on a laugh before dropping her head down against the desk. Hisa frowned at Izzy's antics and backed away just a bit. "Oh dear God, help me please."

"I don't see anything funny."

"I do," Izzy nearly guffawed and sat up while rubbing her forehead. "The fact that you think I'd try my hand at seducing those two idiots is arguably the highlight of my day," Izzy grinned widely despite Hisa's dark look. "And it's only third period."

Hisa folded her arms, finding not one thing funny. "Well, I would expect nothing less from a girl like you. You Italian women, so flirtatious and provocative."

That comment shut Izzy right up. Her eyes became steely once more and before she could stop herself, she shot up right to her feet. The classroom had yet to fill with their classmates or teacher so the only witnesses were Hisa's two friends. Despite being known for her usual calm and indifferent personality, Izzy did have quite the temper. It was explosive and was usually accompanied by swinging fists and colorful cursing. Her mother often frowned upon her short temper but Alphonse found it quite amusing. Izzy was infamous among her family for having one of the worst tempers. That didn't stop some of her cousins from trying her. They often ended up with a punch to the face.

Izzy was sure she could take Hisa and her two friends. She was willing to bet they hadn't grown up tumbling and fighting with older brothers and cousins. They seemed far too delicate. "What did you just say?" She asked slowly, eyes narrowed.

Flirtatious? _Provocative_?

This girl attended a goddamn Host Club. What was more flirtatious and provocative than that? Hisa didn't back down, which impressed Izzy somewhat, but she still wasn't expecting Izzy's temper flare. "You listen to me, you airheaded bottled blonde," Izzy snapped tensely, ignoring Hisa's audible gasp. "I don't care for this obsessive need you have to bother me but what you won't do is discredit my person based on some superficial stereotype," She snapped, hearing some of her accent bleed into her Japanese.

"But let's get something straight, shall we? I'm not the least bit interested in seducing any of those boys, understand? In fact, I think it's a bit distasteful for an _upstanding_ young lady such as yourself to spend her afternoons paying for the company of flirtatious and provocative boys, you see. It's only because of my younger cousin's naive and sweet nature that I'm even allowing _her_ to attend said Host Club. I'm sure that I already told you to knock your childish behavior off but seeing as how your brain is the size of a popcorn kernel, I'll repeat myself but do pay closer attention, would you?"

Hisa's face bloomed brightly at Izzy's insults. "Leave me alone," She spoke slowly, carefully speaking like she was dealing with a fussy child that spoke a different language. "That's all," her cold expression morphed into an icy smile. "Now, class is about to begin. Sit down, won't you?"

The honey-blonde backed off with her friends following. Izzy slowly sat back down, tilting her head back to let out an annoyed huff.

The end of the year was still so far away.

* * *

Izzy tried not to show her disdain when she showed up to the gardens. She was still simmering from Hisa's earlier statement but tried to tape the anger down. She wasn't sure if attending Club would lift her spirits or agitate her even further but she was going to try to keep her short temper in check. It wouldn't be fair to take her anger out on any of them. While Hisa went out of her way to piss Izzy off, the Host Club was more of a minor annoyance.

"Izzy-senpai," Haruhi noticed and greeted her first. The Hosts were spread about, sitting out on decorative and probably expensive blankets. Haruhi was camped out on a vibrant red blanket, surprising Izzy. Red didn't seem like the younger girl's color. Seemed too... _loud._ "I wasn't expecting to see you back so soon," Haruhi mused, almost smug. Izzy placed a hand on her hip while looking down at her.

"I was threatened."

"Ah. Makes sense."

Despite herself, Izzy found herself grinning. Before she could continue her conversation with the first year, Tamaki came bounding over. "It's wonderful to see you today, my white lily," He greeted her exuberantly. For some odd reason, she allowed him to invade her personal space, wrapping a long arm around her thin waist. "Perhaps you'll finally join me for the day?"

"Perhaps not," Izzy replied in a pleasant but false tone. "I think I'll join Mori and Honey-chan again, if you don't mind," Izzy slipped out of his hold. For a second, Tamaki looked ready to go on a heartbroken tirade but a small chuckle from Haruhi distracted him. Izzy took her opportunity to cross the garden towards the third year's blankets. They sat on combined blankets of dark blue and pink, somewhat surprising her that the colors didn't clash terribly. "Hi guys," She greeted casually, sinking down on the edge of the blankets.

"Berry-chan!" Honey threw his arms up at the sight of her. "Hika-chan and Kao-chan said you would join us today," He beamed brightly, flowers blooming around his face. Izzy blinked hard at him, wondering why she kept seeing flowers around his face every time he spoke in a cute manner. Maybe a trick of the lights?

But they were outside…

"Don't think too hard about it," Mori spoke up, seemingly aware of her train of thought. Izzy's head whipped into his direction, blinking wide eyes. She willed herself not to blush under his unwavering gaze. She nodded slowly and folded her legs neatly under her. Across from her, she took notice of Ozawa Hisa staring at her. She resisted the urge to groan.

"Yes, Hikaru and Kaoru insisted that I visit today. How could I deny them when they were kind enough to seek me out and even walk me to class?" Izzy turned back to Honey with a pleasant smile. "Such sweet boys," She mused, pointedly smiling in Hisa's directions. The honey-blonde tried hard not to scowl in return, turning sharply to look at Honey.

"Are you trying a new dessert today, Honey-chan?" Hisa asked politely, taking the attention from Izzy. That was just fine with her. She settled a little more comfortably at the edge of the blankets and neatly folded her hands against her lap. Honey began talking a mile per minute about the desserts but Izzy could barely decipher it. She did hear him say macarons a couple of times. Izzy bit her bottom lip at the mention of the treats.

Like tiramisu, Izzy was quite weak to macarons.

Izzy thought about all of the sweets she consumed yesterday and tried hard not to groan out loud. She usually didn't indulge too much in sweets because it tended to go straight to her hips and waist. Now that she didn't actively dance, it so much easier for her to gain and retain weight. She could just see all of her aunts poking and pinching at her, commenting on her weight gain.

She clapped her hands over her eyes and tried to ignore the urgent need to groan. These boys were going to be the death of her. She wondered if it was too late to make an escape. Before she could even look up to map out an escape route, something sweet was shoved just under her nose. "Berry-chan, this one is coffee-flavored," Honey cutely told her. "Try it, you like coffee," Honey aptly reminded her. Internally, Izzy began to scream but Honey took no notice of her inner plight, shoving the treat further into her face. Izzy leaned backwards in an attempt to escape the treat.

Mori leaned over and grabbed at Honey, pulling him away. "That's not polite, Mitsukuni."

"But Takashi, I want Berry-chan to try it!"

"Then ask her instead of forcing it in her face."

Honey pouted cutely, ignoring the coos from the other girls sitting with them. If he asked her, there would be a chance that Izzy would say no. She already said once that she didn't eat sweets often in fear of her weight. He didn't see anything wrong with her weight so he thought sharing his treats with her was just fine. "Berry-chan, will you try one?" He asked, big eyes shining while holding out the coffee-flavored macaron towards her.

Izzy eyed at the treat, warring with herself. Serafina constantly made macarons for her and Francesco and the two bonded over their love for the treats. She couldn't remember the last time she had any time to sit down with her oldest brother to share macarons. She missed Franky. She missed all of her brothers, she missed her parents. She missed Italy. "How could I say no, eh?" Izzy asked through a sigh. She reached for the offered treat and tried not to gobble it down much like Honey. "I'm going to regret this. I'm going to swell up like a balloon," Izzy muttered to herself. "It's so good, oh my God. It's not fair."

"It's as if you never tried a macaron," Hisa huffed as Izzy mooned over the treat. The brunette looked at her sharply, eyes narrowed. She did not want to deal with the honey-blonde. Why couldn't she fangirl over one of the other boys? And who exactly was she here for anyway? Mori or Honey? Hisa's eyes flickered towards Mori and Izzy let out a knowing breath.

"Mind yourself, Ozawa-san," Izzy hummed in a pleasant tone. She smiled at the girl but there was a hidden warning in her face. "As I said, I don't dabble often in sweets in fear of unnecessary weight gain. It's hard to keep if off since I don't dance that much anymore."

"You dance?" a girl with bone straight black hair asked. Izzy frowned when the attention turned to her. It's not like she was the one doing the hosting. Weren't they supposed to be falling over themselves under Honey and Mori's attention? She knew she should have escaped when she had the chance. The twins never said she had to stay the entire time.

"I do, well, not seriously anymore."

"How long have you danced?" a pale blonde asked.

"Since I was five."

"Wow!" Honey crowed, tugging the attention away from her. Oh, thank God, Izzy felt herself sigh in relief. "That's impressive, Berry-chan," He continued in his excitable voice. She didn't really think so but decided not to rebuff his statement. She had a feeling that like Tamaki, Honey was somewhat easy to impress. Although she wasn't sure why, wealthy families often put their children in those sort of classes when they were young.

Their conversation quickly veered off into something else and Izzy was all too happy to sit back and be quiet. Host Club ended without any bumps, which was grateful for, but she sent Fumiko off without her because she had to talk to them in private. Fumiko giggled behind hands, clearly mistaking Izzy's intentions. The older brunette only rolled her eyes and sent her cousin off with Ayame and Yuna, shaking her head at their ridiculous thought-train. She waited patiently until the girls began clearing out, ignoring the Host Club's look of curiosity.

She crossed over towards Hikaru and Kaoru, smiling all the while. "Hime?" Hikaru prompted with an angelic look about him. Izzy was not fooled but she continued to smile. She reached up, placing her hands against the side of their heads. Without warning she brought their heads together, smashing them together with a more satisfied smile. They dropped to their combined blankets of light blue and orange, whining about the world spinning around them.

"I thought I made it clear that I don't enjoy being threatened," Izzy huffed from above them, fists placed at her hips. "You're lucky I didn't have anything to hit you with," She continued before turning her gaze on Kyoya. "And you shouldn't encourage such behavior!"

"I haven't a clue what you mean, Giovanni-hime," Kyoya replied smoothly.

"Oh, I'm sure you don't, Ootori," Izzy rolled her eyes before looking down at the two. "And quit being dramatic," She huffed down at Hikaru and Kaoru, uncaring to their plight. Nevermind that she was responsible for their headaches. Kaoru sat up first, rubbing his aching head. "Threatening people is no way to make friends, you know."

"Well, how else are we supposed to get you to come to Club?" Kaoru asked with a hint of annoyance. Bashing their heads together just seemed excessive. Izzy continued to look down at them with a haughty expression.

"You could ask me like a normal person."

"So you would come then, if we asked?"

"Nope. Have a good afternoon."

* * *

Akari: Oh Xin would definitely have a fit if she had to wear the Ouran's dress. A crossover would be funny as all hell, Xin is the jealous type though so she wouldn't enjoy Gaara being apart of it lol. Izzy definitely doesn't stand a chance against the Host Club but she's going to put up a fight.

Honorific: I'm glad you're giving the rewrite a chance but there will be a lot of differences between the rewrite and the original. I do have the original on a backup document and I'm using it like an outline of sorts but if you really would like to read it again, I have no problems sharing it with you. The documentation is a little whonky now so I'd probably edit it beforehand though.

AmericanNidiot: Yeah, a lot of OCs kind of just let the host club do as they please. It's funny but it's also frustrating. I think Izzy gives them a lot of room to do as they please but she's also very willing to get them in line if they bother her too much, what do you think?

So I remember a review from We Own The Night that pointed out that I don't often describe what Izzy wears besides her uniform. Izzy's style is really laid-back and casual compared to the Host Club so I'll try to be more mindful in describing her outfits. I think her style is cute. Anyway, read, favorite, follow and review. I love reviews! See you next update.


	6. Come together

I did not have a crush on Mori.

First and foremost, I was too old to develop a crush. I thought he was attractive, of course, but did that warrant a crush? Of course not. My brothers thought a ton of girls were attractive but did they crush on those girls? Nope. Besides, the entire Host Club were attractive in their own ways. Wasn't that the point of the Club? Attractive boys with too much time on their hands?

Tamaki was attractive, did that mean I had some sort of crush on him? Of course not. But then again, I frowned distastefully, Tamaki was a complete moron and that took away from his attractiveness. I tapped my fingers against my chin in thought. Kyoya was very attractive...but he was also very evil. I mentally crossed him off the list without a second thought. Attractive or not, he was Satan in disguise.

Kaoru and Hikaru were cute. Until they opened their mouths or started their silly incestious act. And how in the world was that appealing to anyone? Japanese girls had the oddest taste and the fact that they were so eager to play their relationship up like that took away from their appeal, in my opinion.

Now that just left Honey, Haruhi and Mori. Haruhi was obviously cute but seeing as how Haruhi was actually a 'she' and not a 'he', her attractiveness to me became moot. Honey was obviously cute but he physically looked six or seven and well...that's not exactly my cup of tea either.

Which left Mori.

I couldn't really find anything wrong with Mori like I could with the other Host members. He wasn't a total moron like Tamaki nor was he completely evil like Kyoya. His relationship with Honey didn't physically repulse me and he wasn't masquerading as the opposite gender like Haruhi. There wasn't much that was wrong with Mori. Well, I suppose he did have his faults, everyone did. No one was perfect but his imperfections weren't as obvious as everyone else's and perhaps that's what intimidated me. And his perpetual silence. The fact that I couldn't easily read him added to his intimidation.

But just because I thought he was handsome and wasn't psychotic like everyone else didn't mean I had a crush on him. I just enjoyed his company because he didn't make me want to smack the living Hell out of him. I mean, I didn't want to smack Honey or Haruhi either but...that's the besides the point.

The point is, I don't have a crush on Mori.

"Are you alright?"

Chihiro peered down at me from the kitchen doorway. I blinked twice and looked up at her, not realizing that I'd zoned out. She approached me carefully, settling down at the island without being invited. "Is that homework?" She asked curiously, emerald eyes scanning the messy counter full of my notes, homework and a textbook borrowed from Ouran's library.

"Unfortunately," I sniffed tonelessly, reaching for the bowl of fresh fruit left by Aimi. Honey was relentless once I revealed my love for macaroons and anything coffee-flavored. I found myself ducking and dodging him practically throwing treats at my face. Haruhi and Mori tried their best to dissuade him from doing so but apparently Honey was quite stubborn. He also had impeccable aim. I steadily avoided the scale just waiting to mock my weight gain in my bathroom.

"Perhaps a tutor if you're struggling?" Chihiro prompted, sliding my textbook towards her. "Oh, history. I thought you loved history."

I picked up my pencil to roll in between my fingers. "I do," I tried hard not to pout. " _Italian_ history. Japanese history is completely different."

Chihiro made a humming noise but she seemed distracted. She was staring blankly at the textbook but her eyes weren't moving. That caused me to frown, Chihiro didn't space out a lot. "Aunty?" I prompted gently, watching as she blinked hard. "Are you alright?"

"I...well…" Chihiro trailed off, drumming her fingers against the textbook. I watched her before reaching over to place my hand over hers. For as long as I've known Chihiro, she's never really been one to space out like this. I tilted my head to her, smiling softly in hopes of reassuring her that whatever was bothering her was going to be okay. "Your Uncle Takuma is becoming very...volatile…"

My smile dropped at the mention of Takuma. I've never met the man in person but mama talked about him once or twice. He didn't sound like the nicest man around and if I recalled right, he didn't think highly of my father or my mixed bloodline. He was a racist bigot and mama had cut all ties with him"What's he so angry about?" I tried to ask casually, stabbing at a sliced honeydew. I had a feeling I knew what he was so angry about but a small part of me wished it was something else.

Chihiro slouched forward, balancing her chin in her palm. Takuma's temper tantrums must really be wearing her down. Chihiro wasn't one for slouching. I remembered hearing stories of Fumiko's horrid etiquette lessons while growing up. She used to whine and groan about Chihiro obsessing over her posture. I didn't go through the same thing, my father never seeing the use for it. But I did receive some lessons. Mama insisted as Dad climbed through the ranks of high society. ' _They'll eat you alive, Al. I know it seems silly but the rich are the same, whether it's Japanese high society or Italian. Your children need to know at least the basics of etiquette.'_

My brothers weren't really fond of them but I didn't mind them so much. We understood why it was so important to come off as prim and proper. Papa was a businessman and no one would want to do business with a man with rowdy children. It wasn't good for image. Sure, we weren't perfect, but we behaved much better than our cousins.

"He's angry that you've come to Japan for a year," Chihiro sighed, eyes closed. "Shinobu sees something in you that's not in Fumi or Katsu. I see it too. I know how much you want to rebel against it, you're so much like your mother in that sense. So rebellious."

I felt my shoulders stiffen. "I have nothing to do with this company, Aunty. I don't want to someday inherit a business I had no part of."

"Your mother has sheltered you from her former lifestyle."

"What use would she have of it if it's a _former_ lifestyle?"

"Wait until Shinobu hears that sharp tongue of yours. Although it's no surprise since you are Masami's daughter," Chihiro was muttering now, all etiquette lessons be damned. I took the time to study my aunt, frowning all the while.

I remember once hearing that my Mama was described as a sophisticated beauty when she was a teenager. Her beauty had aged like fine wine and now she was described as an elegant beauty. Chihiro, on the other hand, had more of a soft beauty when she was a teenager. Bright-eyed and cheerful, she had been somewhat of a party girl. The life of the party, Mama had once described her sister. But that changed when Mama hid in Italy.

You never really think of the repercussions when making a choice between your happiness and obligations.

Mama was born and bred to run Morimoto Industrial while Chihiro and Takuma were mostly free to do what they liked, as long as it was appropriate in high society. But then Mama was gone and she wasn't coming back. The responsibility of Morimoto fell to Chihiro, a bright-eyed party girl with no idea how to run a multi-billion dollar company. She was no longer bright-eyed and her soft beauty had waned into something...tired. Chihiro was every bit as beautiful as my Mama but it was just...a _tired_ beauty.

I wondered if that was my future, Fumiko's future. Was I willing to do what my mother did to her sister? Saddle her with a burden that was never meant for her? Did that mean it was my burden? If Mama had stayed in Japan, the burden of Morimoto Industrial would have been mine, rightfully so.

"He insists that you go back to where you came from," Chihiro continued with a disgraced frown. "What an idiot. You have every and any right to live in Japan as long as you like, Izzy. You are Italian but you are also Japanese. Don't forget that," Chihiro reminded me in a gentle tone. A small of part of me relaxed at Chihiro's words, that despite not living here, I still had a place in Chihiro's home. It was nice to be fully accepted by my aunt.

But then the rational side of me quickly slapped the thought away. It didn't matter if I had a place here or not. I was only in Japan until the school year ended, until I graduated. Then I would be on the first flight back to Venice with my family with the intentions of going to a top-notch university that my Papa would pick.

Morimoto Industrial could figure out who would eventually take over without even considering me.

"My, you really _are_ bad at Japanese History," Chihiro hummed thoughtlessly, eyes roving over my homework and my notes. "You only got two answers right. Perhaps a tutor would be best, yes?"

I let out a loud groan and dropped my head to the table.

* * *

"This isn't the right book," I muttered sourly while stepping into the freakishly large library Ouran had to offer. The library was probably the one thing Ouran offered that pleased me. I loved reading and as my eyes swept over the rows and rows of books, my heart fluttered in anticipation. But that wasn't important right now. What's important is that I borrowed the _wrong_ book. No wonder my homework was wrong. If it hadn't been for Chihiro, I wouldn't have realized my mistake. Luckily my history class was the one of the last classes of the day. I just had to find the right textbook and use my lunch period to correct my mistakes.

There wasn't many students in the library but that didn't surprise me. Who'd spend their lunch period surrounded by books. It didn't bother me either, I preferred being left alone. I moved towards the History section, eyes scoping for the right textbook this time. I grabbed the second edition instead of the third edition. No wonder all my answers were incorrect.

"Berry-chan!" Honey suddenly came bounding up to me. I turned at him, readied for a macaroon to hit me in the face. Luckily he wasn't armed with any treats for now. That didn't stop him from throwing himself at me. Somehow he didn't completely bowl me over and I managed to catch him awkwardly with one arm while still holding the heavy textbook. I shifted the book to balance against my forearm.

"Honey-chan," I greeted in a more calm voice. I clutched at his back, trying hard to hold him against my waist. He clung to my waist, wrinkling the fine yellow fabric. "It's lunch time, what in the world are you doing in here?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

And if Honey was here...that meant…

Mori was suddenly there, swiftly plucking the heavy textbook from my arm. Instantly I reached forward to grab more securely at Honey with my freed arm. "Thank you, Mori," I nodded absently as Honey's face readjusted to press into my stomach rather than my waist.

"Haru-chan needed some books," Honey stated in that bright tone of his. That didn't really explain why Mori and Honey were here as well. But I took a glance at Mori and noted a pile of books in his hands, now with my textbook at the top.

"I see. And where's the rest of your merry band of idiots?" I asked, wondering how long Honey would hang from my waist. I might have imagined it but I swear Mori snorted at my words. When I looked at him again, his face remained a blank slate.

"Haru-chan said they would only get in the way," Honey continued brightly, not at all bothered by my insults. I nodded along to his words and shuddered at the thought of the rest of the Host Club in the library. "What about you, Berry-chan?"

"Ah, oh, well.." I trailed off, feeling a little embarrassed for my reasoning. "I may have checked out the wrong textbook for the history homework. I came to get the _right_ textbook and correct my homework before class."

Mori glanced down at my textbook. " _Third_ Edition," He rumbled with what I could only assume was a bit of mirth. I instantly flushed under his gaze and looked away.

"Yes, yes, I realized that _now_ ," I huffed with a small smile. I would've folded my arms across my chest if I hadn't been holding Honey up. Speaking of which, I looked down at the loli-shota. "Honey-chan, would you please get down now? I really must find that textbook and correct my homework."

Honey dropped from my waist with a pout but I offered a smile. I ran my hands over my dress, smoothing out the wrinkles his hug created. "Izzy-senpai," Haruhi approached, holding a two books with a small smile. "Studying?" She prompted, placing the books down on a nearby table. Mori followed suit, placing the pile of books down as well.

"No, just correcting some homework," I shrugged carelessly. "I had the wrong textbook," I explained shortly, narrowing my eyes when she chuckled. "Oh sure, laugh at the foreign Italian girl," I sniffed, folding my arms across my chest.

"You're half," Haruhi reminded me ironically. She continued to smile and I shrugged again while waving her off. I looked at her assortments of books, not realizing that my textbook was missing from the pile. "I have to maintain my grades if I want to stay on the scholarship," Haruhi explained, taking notice of my stare.

"My, my," I murmured softly. "I'm sure you manage quite well even without all this extra studying," I said carefully. Haruhi had to be only sixteen, fifteen at the least. I think one of the twins mentioned that she was always studying. It seemed unfair that the other students were so frivolous and barely had to make an effort to stay enrolled in this ridiculous school while Haruhi seemingly spent a lot of time studying to maintain her enrollment.

Haruhi shrugged a shoulder. "It keeps me busy," She returned very simply. I frowned down at her, lifting my hand to settle my chin in the curve of my palm. My eyebrows furrowed and I know I didn't look that convinced since Haruhi looked a little sheepish.

"Berry-chan looks like Haru-chan's big sister, ne Takashi?"

I blinked, slightly embarrassed that I'd been caught worrying over Haruhi. I barely knew the girl. What she did in her free time had nothing to do with me. She could study until her eyeballs fell out of her head. It had nothing to do with me.

"Ah," Mori nodded, now armed with a heavy textbook. I quirked an eyebrow at him but said nothing else.

"You can be very…" Haruhi took a moment to think of a word. "Sisterly," She decided with a kind smile. "You're like a big sister."

"Ironic since I'm the baby sister in my family," I mused even though the idea made me very uncomfortable. I turned away, avoiding Haruhi's gaze and noticed that Mori was carrying the very textbook that I needed. I made a small noise of content. "The bane of my existence," I commented, hoping to steer the conversation away. I tried not to blush when I realized Mori retrieved the textbook while I spoke to Haruhi.

"I'm terrible at Japanese History," I muttered, holding out my hands for the book. "Thank you for getting it for me, I really appreciate it," I tried to say in a controlled manner. Mori seemed like a nice person willing to help anyone he came across. It wasn't like I was special or anything. We barely even knew each other.

God I hated this guy.

"You're having trouble with History?" Haruhi prompted before I could make an escape. Damn it, Haruhi. I could act like I hadn't heard her but then that would be rude, wouldn't it? Besides, I'm the one who muttered that I was no good at it. Jesus, I should have just thanked Mori and went on my merry way.

I smiled weakly at her. "Well, somewhat, yes. I've only ever learned Italian History. I had somewhat of a crash course of Japanese History since my parents figured I would struggle the most but…" I trailed off, sighing sullenly. "I'm having a harder time than I originally thought. My aunt suggested a tutor…" I flushed, mentally scolding myself for rambling like that. I blamed it on Haruhi, something about her made you want to be sincere with her. I wondered if she knew she had the effect on people.

Haruhi nodded slowly although I doubt she really understood my problem. It's not like she had to learn Italian History and maintain steady grades to keep in her class. She just had to maintain her grades. She's been doing well so far, it seemed like. And on top of that, she was only a first-year.

"Perhaps Mori-senpai can tutor you?"

I made a weird noise in my throat, "ah?"

But Haruhi didn't seem to notice or even care. "He's really good at History and I'm sure he could help you out," She said with a thoughtful look. I only stared back at her, willing her to shut the hell up. Yuna tried to suggest the very same thing but I remembered the conversation veering off into disbelief about the fact that there was a published character bio for the Host Club.

"Oh," I laughed nervously and pulled the textbook to my chest, hugging it tightly like it was a lifeline. "Oh, that won't be necessary," I continued to laugh nervously, avoiding all and any eye contact with Mori. "I'm sure he's quite busy with the Host Club, his own studies and any other interests he has. I'd hate to take up any of his time."

Honey fisted his hand in my dress, tugging at the material. My dress was going to become a wrinkled rag by the time Honey was through with me. "Takashi wouldn't mind, Berry-chan," He insisted cutely, reminding me of cherub. In the back of my mind, I wondered why Honey was so small. Maybe it was bone-deficiency? Why wasn't anyone else concerned about his stunted growth?

"Yes, well, how do you know that?" I asked with raised eyebrows. "You're volunteering him but haven't asked if he's even opened to such things," I admonished both of them for being so thoughtless. I think it was a running trait shared by all the Host members. Haruhi made a face, probably realizing the same thing.

With that being said, the three of us turned to see Mori's reaction. He remained stoic, arms folded simply against his chest. "It's fine," He shrugged a shoulder. I almost threw my head back and groaned. Instead I smiled very tightly and uttered yet another nervous laugh. Somebody needed to stop me, for heaven's sake. I'm surprised no one commented on all my skittish laughter.

"I'd rather not bother you."

"It's not a bother."

For Christ's sake!

I reached up to scratch at the back of my head. "Of course it's not," I muttered quietly. "But..now isn't a good time since I need to do the homework," I held up the textbook. "Thank you very much for finding the textbook, it was very kind of you, Mori," I backed away from the three of them with a strained smile.

Mori nodded but Haruhi was the one who spoke up. "Izzy-senpai is right," She nodded, ruffling her short locks. She really made for a cute boy so I guess I could somewhat understand how they were able to fool the female population. "We should leave her alone."

Honey pouted but nodded slowly. His grip on my dress, however, tightened. "Berry-chan, you'll come to Club today, won't you?"

I felt my smile twitch and froze in my spot. I did tell them to try asking me to join them for club instead of threatening them, hadn't I? What's more is that Honey asked me. I couldn't say no to that face, could I? I could if I didn't care about his feelings and honestly, the last thing I wanted was to hurt Honey's feelings. If it had been Tamaki, I would have done so relentlessly. But Honey? Well, he was a sweetheart with a face of a bunny and even I wasn't that heartless.

"Sure, Honey-chan, why not?" I sighed heavily, shoulders sagging. I decided not to point out Haruhi's smug expression. "I'll see you later then," I took my leave as soon as Honey released his grip of my dress. I absently smoothed the wrinkle away as I retreated first.

Great.

* * *

"Giovanni-hime, what a surprise," Kyoya greeted me first when I stepped into their Hosting room along with Fumiko, Yuna and Ayame after classes ended for the day. The three of them had been surprised that I followed along after them, wondering out loud who managed to get me to attend Club that day. I mostly ignored their loud babbling. Interestingly enough, once Kyoya greeted me, they all simmered down quietly. I glanced down at them and took note that they were blushing and gently whispering back and forth among each other.

If their whispering bothered Kyoya, he didn't show it. Of course, a lot of things probably didn't bother him. I folded my arms across my chest and feigned indifference. "Honey-chan asked me to come," I replied smoothly, shrugging my shoulders.

"I suppose there are some things you simply can't say no to," He commented with a small smile. It was entirely fake but it riled any girl close enough to us up. I only eyed my friends with raised eyebrows before slightly shaking my head. I suppose even they were foolish enough to fall for that bogus smile.

"Well, it's not like he kidnapped me," I replied flippantly. For a brief moment, I watched as Kyoya's glasses glinted ominously and his bogus smile faltered. I nearly grinned but managed to control the smugness that wanted to leak out through my mouth. "Oh, Haruhi!" I noticed the short brunette. "I'll designate him for the day, Ootori," I broke off from my friends before anyone could say anything else.

"What did you do to Kyoya-senpai?" Haruhi asked as soon as I got close enough. She seemed to have watched the exchange but hadn't been close enough to actually hear it.

I smiled innocently, "nothing."

"Whatever it was, you'll pay for it."

"You're probably right," I agreed easily while sitting down. The girls cluttered together on the single couch across from Haruhi were most likely in her year, so I didn't know their names. They quickly revealed themselves to be Watanabe Hanako, Yukishiro Tomoka and Takane Mei and they seemed like nice girls but I didn't think too highly of them, given their interests. But who am I to judge? I'm sitting here as well, entertaining this whacked out fiasco so what does that say about my character?

I can't possibly say what Haruhi and her trio of oblivious girls spoke about during the duration of the Hosting hour. I mostly spaced out, making comments at the right time but I really had no idea what the four of them spoke about. It probably had to do with Haruhi's 'commoner' status. It seemed that the high society of Ouran couldn't really believe Haruhi somehow survived with her abysmal means.

And really, why didn't that offend her? To my understanding, Haruhi wasn't actually poor. She wasn't well-off like the rest of us but she wasn't dirt poor. My grandparents weren't as nearly well-off as my Father and his siblings but they didn't go around calling them commoners. Well, mostly because Nonna Serafina wouldn't have it. I suppose the students of Ouran were just rude like that.

"How are you liking Japan so far, Giovanni-senpai?" Takane Mei suddenly asked, breaking me from my wandering thoughts. My gaze strayed back to her, studying her for a quick moment. She was smiling politely but her eyes were quite guarded. I guess as the foreign student, everyone was going to always ask me that same, tired, question.

"It's quite fine," I answered in a polite tone. "It's..different but nothing I can't handle getting used to," I continued. I'd rather not get used to Japan and it's strange ways. It's only been about three weeks since I've arrived and somehow I managed to get tangled up within the Host Club. They had to be the weirdest group I've ever encountered in my life.

"Have you become quite close with Haruhi-kun, Honey-chan and Mori-senpai?" Yukishiro asked next, dark brown curls bouncing as she leaned forward. I only blinked at her, wondering where in the world she got an idea like that from. They couldn't know about Sunday, could they? The last thing I needed was any of these girls finding out about that. If Kaoru and Hikaru opened those fat mouths of theirs, I was going to hit them again.

"Oh, you must mean in the library today," Haruhi seemingly perked up, probably thinking the girls found out about the forced friendship. I doubt these girls would take too kindly to a random foreigner becoming ' _close_ ' with their obsessions. Nevermind I wanted nothing to do with the group as a whole. I barely wanted anything to do with the reasonable members of the group.

I frowned at Yukishiro. Did that mean she'd been spying on us? I mean, we were out in the open of the library but were having a pretty private conversation. I don't remember seeing the girl but then again, I hadn't been looking out for any girls watching the four of us. It didn't really surprise me but it was a little disturbing knowing she'd been watching us.

But you know what? I wasn't even surprised. These girls were psychos after all, lusting after moronic psychos. Good Lord, I missed the normality of Italy.

"Mori-senpai was helping me to get some books," Haruhi began to explain with that award-winning smile of hers. "Ironically, Giovanni-senpai also needed help locating a textbook. Mori-senpai helped her out and Honey-senpai convinced her to join Club for the day."

The girls ' _oh'_ simultaneously and heave an almost heavy sigh of relief. I almost tell them that it's kind of creepy for them to be so intuned with one another. And why should Haruhi explain our time in the library anyway? Did they think we were having some weird romantic rendezvous in the library? That would make me somewhat of a floozy, wouldn't it?

That's just rude.

Were they all under the impression that I was some hot-blooded floozy, intent on stealing their idols away one by one? Perhaps it wasn't just Hisa who had the odd misconception that as an Italian girl, I was flirtatious and provocative.

Well that isn't nice at all.

It's not like I came off that way. For the most part, I was pretty quiet and to myself. It's not like I actually _flirted_ with any of the Host members. I did the exact opposite and tried to avoid them as much as I could and yet I still found myself in their company more often than not. And what's worse is that these girls probably thought I sought them out, not the other way around.

I tried not to roll my eyes.

"Well, Mori-senpai is kind like that…" Watanabe trailed off with a dazed smiled.

Yes..so damn kind.

 _End P.O.V_

Izzy wasn't all that surprised when she was barred from leaving the Host Club after hosting hours ended. Kaoru and Hikaru snuck up from behind her and placed their hands on her shoulders, forcing her back to the couch. To their surprise, she didn't actually fight them off. Instead she tilted her head back, locks of toffee and blonde spilling backwards as her eyes landed on them. She leveled them with a blank gaze, one that told them that she really wasn't in the mood for their shenanigans. But then again, she never was in the mood.

Kyoya fed Fumiko, Yuna and Ayame some deceitful lie about why she had to stay behind again. Luckily they worshipped Kyoya just enough to believe whatever lie he spouted out. He could say that Izzy was a fabled mermaid and they'd believe him.

All the more reason to believe he was actually the Devil in disguise.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have the gaze of a dead shark?" Hikaru asked with a rather bright smile, despite the severity of his words. Izzy's gaze shifted to rest solely on him, one brow quirked.

"Yes. Many times, actually," Izzy replied coolly, seemingly unaffected. Most girls wouldn't take kindly to being told they had the gaze of a dead shark. Izzy was definitely an odd one. "Now get off of me, you're wrinkling my dress," She waved both him and Kaoru away. Satisfied that she wouldn't run off the minute she got the chance, they released their grip on her shoulders.

"Giovanni-hime," Tamaki came bounding over. Izzy decided against scolding him about that silly nickname. At this point, he was just doing it to get under her skin. "It's come to our attention that you're a musical prodigy."

"I don't see what that has to with anything. I wouldn't call myself a prodigy in anything."

"It says so in your records."

"I feel like that's an invasion of privacy."

They looked towards Kyoya but he didn't see the need to give them an actual answer to her statement. He only smiled, very slowly and very deliberately. Izzy rolled her eyes but said nothing else. "Even so," Tamaki continued on, ignoring her obvious distaste. "We're having a Host's Ball," He explained very shortly. Izzy only raised her eyebrows, somewhat knowing where the conversation was going but hoping she was wrong. "And we would greatly appreciate it if you would lend your musical talents."

Izzy didn't immediately react. In fact, she simply stared at Tamaki for a long, silent moment. She slowly raised her hand, smirking when Tamaki flinched slightly, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You mean to tell me you can't just _hire_ someone to play music at your silly ball? I'm sure money is no option," Izzy dropped her hand from her face only to stubbornly fold her arms across her chest.

"While that may be true in a regular situation, we do have a budget to maintain," Kyoya answered before Tamaki could. Izzy only blinked her hazel brown eyes at him, slightly impressed that he seemed to literally have an answer for every one of her questions.

"So I suppose I'll do this for free then?"

"You would expect payment, Giovanni-hime?"

Izzy rolled her eyes and shook her head. Of course she wouldn't expect payment. What kind of girl did he take her for? She wondered if Kyoya dealt with everything like it was a business deal. That couldn't be a healthy way to live and she wondered how his friends could put up with it. "No, I'm not some businesswoman you have to strike a deal with, you know. I'm a regular seventeen year old girl. Why don't you just try asking?" Izzy asked with a pleasant tone, ignoring Hikaru and Kaoru's blank expression.

"Really?" Tamaki tilted his head to the side. "In that case...would you please lend us your talents for our Host's Ball, Giovanni-hime?" Tamaki asked with that princely flare he was known for. Usually that was all it took to get a girl to agree to whatever nonsense he was spouting but Izzy was a particularly odd girl.

Izzy smiled so sweetly, Tamaki was sure she would agree. "Well, since you asked me like a regular human being," She began in a cheerful voice with a smile to match. "Of course my answer would be _no_."

For some reason she couldn't quite decipher, her answer caught Tamaki severely off guard. Hadn't she done the same to the twins? Lured them into a false sense of security with a smile only to refuse them? Why would Tamaki be any different? Izzy watched in amusement as Tamaki seemed to just shatter from her refusal and moped towards a corner of the room. The corner of the room suddenly darkened and Izzy wasn't positive but she was sure gloomy mushrooms began to grow and surround him. No one really seemed to care except Haruhi. "I thought I told you to stop growing mushrooms in this corner, Senpai," Haruhi tutted as she bent over him, hands resting on her knees. "At least she didn't hurt you like when she knocked the twins' heads together. Get a hold of yourself."

Izzy wasn't sure if it was Tamaki's reaction or Haruhi's bland mixture of console and bereting but it caused her stony walls to break and suddenly a giggle escaped her lips. She held her hands up towards her face, covering her mouth when her giggles turned to laughter.

Up until now, Izzy didn't even seem capable of laughing.

But even so, the sound of her laughter was quite pretty. Her face flushed prettily as she tried in vain to hide both her face and laughter behind her slim fingers. The Host Club, now quite used to Izzy's usual sour disposition, couldn't help but to stare as she continued to burst with laughter.

Slowly Izzy came down from her fit until her laughter died down into a stray giggles that escaped her lips. "Tamaki, please, come out of that corner. That can't possibly be good or even normal," Izzy twittered with tears at the corner of her eyes. She approached his corner, standing next to Haruhi. She didn't bend over like Haruhi, opting to remain with one hand pressed to her lips in hopes of hiding the big smile that overtook her face.

"I'll play for your silly ball, okay? Just please come out that corner. There's mushrooms growing at your feet, for heaven's sake."

* * *

It was only a week later on a lovely Sunday afternoon that Izzy found herself regretting agreeing to attend Tamaki's Ball. She, along with Fumiko and Chihiro had returned from visiting with Hiroki. He seemed to be doing better and was positively elated to see both Fumiko and Izzy.

Shinobu hadn't been present, allowing Izzy to wear a short-sleeved black and blue striped shirt paired with a black skirt cinched high on her waist. She was just about to change out of the outfit into something more comfortable when Aimi poked her blonde head into Izzy's bedroom. "Excuse me, Izabera-chan, but you have guests," Aimi brightly reported, causing the tall brunette to pause. She turned towards the maid, head tilted to the side. "They're in the sitting room," Aimi beckoned the younger girl to follow along.

Izzy followed after her, not taking notice of Aimi's coy expression. To be quite honest, she was not all that surprised to see members of the Host Club in the sitting room. She was more so surprised to see it was only Tamaki, Mori and Honey. She sent Aimi away with a wave, ignoring the blonde's girlish giggles. She studied the three with a frown, head tilted to the side. "I am _not_ going to some festival with you again," Izzy narrowed her eyes and stepped into the room, making sure to slide the doors shut behind her. The last thing she needed was for Fumiko or Chihiro to walk by and see the three of them here.

Tamaki only smiled brightly at her. "You look quite lovely today, white lily," He complimented politely, watching as Izzy continued to eye him suspiciously. She had yet to threaten any of them so he took that as a good sign. She continued to frown despite his dashing smile, not at all impressed with his smiles or his compliments.

"What are the three of you doing here?" Izzy asked instead of replying to Tamaki's compliment. "And where's the rest of you?" She asked with a pointed look.

"We'll be joining them shortly," Tamaki replied with his smile still in place. Her temper was tamed, for now. That was always a good sign, he was beginning to learn. Izzy's temper, however, was very fleeting and could change at the drop of a dime. The only brunette in the room slowly folded her arms across her chest and cocked her hip to the side, clearly waiting for them to drop a bomb on her. "The twins require your presence today."

Izzy didn't look impressed but then again she barely ever was impressed with his theatrics. In fact, every since her hysterical laughing fit the other day, the Host Club had almost made a competition of who could make Izzy break down in laughter again. Haruhi thought the entire escapade was silly and along with Mori and Kyoya, stayed out of it. They hadn't succeeded yet but Honey managed to pull several genuine smiles from the indifferent brunette. Never mind the fact that Honey could pull a smile from nearly anyone.

"Require my presence for what?" Izzy asked, tightening her arms across her chest almost defensively.

"For your fitting."

Izzy leveled Tamaki with a stony gaze before turning to Mori and Honey. "What is he talking about?" She grouched, not at all in the mood for Tamaki's dramatics. She had a vague feeling that Mori and Honey had been sent along to act as a buffer. Although she still wasn't quite sure what Honey could possibly do if she decided to attack Tamaki. Well, maybe if he got in between her and Tamaki and turned those freakishly large eyes on her, it could stop her.

"For our Ball, Berry-chan," Honey answered with a sugary sweet voice. Izzy only tilted her head to the side, looking quite confused. "You'll need a dress!"

"But why do I have to go for a fitting? Can't I just wear a dress I already own?" Izzy asked. Not that she even had a dress for a Ball in her closet. It wasn't like she planned on attending any Balls when she packed for Japan. But even so, it wouldn't be that hard to just go out and buy a dress. To her surprise, Mori fixed her with a dry look of ' _really?'._ Izzy blinked up at him for a long second before a loud and unladylike snort erupted from her. Her defensive stance shattered and she reached up to hide her face from the trio.

"That's a point for Takashi!" Honey exclaimed delightfully. Izzy only looked down at him, head tilted to the side before remembering their silly competition. She nearly reminded him that Mori hadn't been taking part of the competition for the entire week but decided it didn't really matter either way. Honey was insistent and stubborn in his own cute way and she wasn't going to argue with the silly notion anyway.

"But Honey-senpai," Tamaki all but whined. "Mori-senpai isn't even playing with us," He reminded the stunted third-year. Izzy only watched the interaction between the two blonds with her arms folded across her chest as usual. Sometimes she wondered how the odd Club even got along. They all had such different and colorful personalities, she was surprised there never seemed to be any friction. And even when there was, it didn't last long. The two blonds continued to go back and forth about the technicality, ignoring Izzy and Mori.

Izzy let them carry on for a few more seconds, eyes slowly lifting towards Mori. She was surprised to see that he was looking back at her. She hadn't realized that she'd been smiling at Tamaki and Honey until she felt it slip from her face. She quickly looked away, trying hard to will the impending blush away. "Ah, shouldn't we get going? If you insist upon this, I'd like to get it over with," She decided, looking back towards the blond duo.

"Giovanni-hime is right," Tamaki decided firmly. "Besides, Haruhi is on her own right now with those Devil Twins," He made a face of distaste.

"I'm sure Haruhi can handle them for the time being," Izzy grinned idly. "It's them we should be worried about, that tongue of hers is sharp," She chuckled and waved them towards the doors. "Let's go before we waste any more time," She slid the doors open and waved them through. The three moved towards the front door while Izzy pulled Aimi to the side. The blonde was idly fixing a vase of flowers but Izzy knew she'd only been doing so until the three came out. "Aimi, please tell my Aunt that I'll be...I'm going for a fitting to help with a Club's activity."

"Of course, Izabera-chan," Aimi grinned widely. "I'm glad to see you've made friends with such handsome boys. Fumiko-chan and Chihiro-sama will be thrilled," the blonde babbled with a hint of a blush to her cheeks. Izzy only rolled her eyes in exasperation and shook her head, not bothering to correct the blonde and whatever odd fantasy she had cooked up in that head of hers. She thanked the maid and quickly joined the trio at her front door, pulling on the black boots she just slipped out of. She doubted Tamaki would give her enough time to change into something else.

For the umpteenth time, Izzy wondered how she'd been dragged into the insanity of the Host Club.

* * *

"Hime!"

Hikaru and Kaoru came bounding over towards Izzy the minute they were notified of her presence. They stopped short, loudly appraising her outfit. They were so used to seeing her in the school uniform that it was like a breath of fresh air to see her in her own clothes. Like the rest of them, her clothes were obviously high brand but Izzy's fashion sense didn't seem as loud as the Host Club's sense. The twins circled her, complimenting the length of the skirt making her legs appear even longer but criticizing her choice of dark colors.

"I didn't come here to have my current outfit critiqued," Izzy reminded them blandly, arms folded. It seemed like every time she dealt with the Club, her immediate disposition was to fold her arms across her chest. "I came for the fitting so if we could hurry this along, I would appreciate it," She continued in the same voice, ignoring Hikaru when he started picking at her ponytail.

"I'm surprised you came so easily," Haruhi spoke up, appearing from one of the many hallways that led to the foyer of the twins' chic manor. She was dressed in her usual fashion, with a simple pair of a jeans and a dark pink dress over the jeans.

"Well, the maids are still gossiping about how I was carried out the last time you all showed up. Heaven forbid we add more fuel to the fire," Izzy stated, shooting Mori a look. "Besides, Fu and Chi were home and I didn't need their attention. I'd never hear the end of it if Fu discovered the three of them in our sitting room," Izzy explained, waving Hilkaru away from picking at her ponytail.

Hikaru and Kaoru led the loud band off towards one of the many dressing rooms their house had to offer. Izzy thought it was a little odd but given that their mother was a famous fashion designer, it didn't really surprise her. Her Aunt Vivi's house was the same, having several large and ornate dressing rooms. Kyoya was already present, sitting comfortably on one of the chaise sofas, armed with his usual laptop. He only glanced at Izzy, nodding quickly, before going back to whatever had his attention.

The twins had a field day with Izzy, often comparing her different body size to Haruhi's smaller frame. They were so used to dressing up the smaller girl that they thought Izzy to be some sort of challenge. She mostly ignored their compliments which were often backhanded and acted just as difficult whenever they made a suggestion. It was rather amusing for everyone to watch the tug-of-war between the three. For someone who possessed little to no patience, Izzy did well with keeping up with the twins.

"I hate that color."

"But it looks great with your skin-tone!"

"So? Are those bows? Do I look twelve? You put that back right now."

"You barely even looked at it, Hime."

"That one has an awful cut. No."

" _Hime."_

"Oh, wait, that's a nice one."

"It's plain and it's black, Hime, no. It's a party, not a funeral."

" _I'm_ the one who will wear the stupid dress."

"Yes but you'll be representing the Host Club and you've got to look the part."

It was amusing to see them go back and forth like that. The rejections were piling up and it seemed like the three wouldn't agree on anything. It seemed like there was something wrong with each dress they looked at whether it was the color, the styling, the cut or the length. Some were either too short, too form-fitting or the neckline bordered inappropriate. Izzy also had a distaste for anything with too many bows or ruffles.

"This is ridiculous, we're getting nowhere," Izzy huffed with her hands on her hips. She looked at the rejected dresses and frowned in annoyance.

"You're too picky," Kaoru stated, not bothering to look up from a nice bronze dress. It was backless with a sabrina neckline and floor-length, sporting a slit up to her knees in the very front of the dress. He liked the dress a lot, it would fit with both her skin tone and hair color and it wasn't too inappropriate but was eye-catching enough. Besides, he doubted any of the girls attending would wear a bronze dress. His mind began whirling with the possibilities of what accessories to match with it. He showed it to his brother and after they spent minutes discussing the dress, they presented it to Izzy.

She was looking at another black dress, much to their charging, when she turned to look at their dress. Her head tilted to the side and her hands remained perched at her hips. She looked quite thoughtful as she studied the dress, muttering to herself. "I suppose I could try that one on," She said after a long moment, ignoring the Host Club's sigh of relief. She chuckled under breath and took the dress to the side room for privacy. They could hear her muttering once more to herself, Italian curses mixed in every so often.

"Well?" Tamaki called through the door, impatiently waiting outside of it. Haruhi suggested that he back away from the door but he opted out of listening, as usual. He regretted not listening moments later when the door swung open. It crashed into his face, causing him to yelp in pain. Izzy's head poked out a second later, looking quite confused at the sight of his tearful face.

"Was that your face just now?"

"No, Hime, just my pride."

"Well, move it aside," Izzy carelessly chided, still not stepping out for them to see. "I like the dress but it'll need to be readjusted in some areas," Izzy said, watching as Tamaki sulked to the side. It caused her to chortle out loud and in turn, caused Tamaki to grin because he now had a point in making her laugh. A small smile pulled at her lips as Tamaki insisted on keeping the score. So far Honey was in the lead much to his disappointment. Instead of stepping out, she beckoned the twins closer.

As they stepped closer to her, they realized what needed readjustments. They began to snicker but Izzy quickly reached out and slapped them both. "I won't attend at all if you don't quit it," She snapped at them, smile dropping instantly. "Now shut up and get out so I can change back," She continued in that scathing tone, shooing them away. Hikaru and Kaoru did so, smiling triumphantly despite her sour words.

"We found a dress."

The Host Club sighed in relief once more, ignoring Izzy's Italian curses.

* * *

TeeBeMe: Izzy is stubborn as all hell, isn't she? :)

HelloThere: No, it doesn't have a lot of reviews but that's okay. I don't have any plans of abandoning it at all! Some things just takes time and besides, we're only on chapter 6 so I'm not bent out of shape with the reviews. It's better than no reviews, right? At the moment, I haven't planned far ahead enough to know if her brothers will come to Japan to visit but it's possible, I don't see why not.

AmericaNidiot: It's what they deserve :) They're sometimes a little too pushy and Izzy isn't a lovesick idiot so expect her to smack them around a couple more times in the future, haha.

Akari: Oh we know it's gonna happen but it's amusing to see her resist so much. In this rewrite, I hope to focus on her friendship with everyone just as much as the romantic relationship between her and Mori. Writing her and Kyoya together I think will be the most challenging since they're somewhat similar in the sense of being quiet and sadistic but they're still pretty opposite. It'll be fun. And I know right, who can hate Honey? Not even Izzy's sour ass can hate him.

This is Juli: You know, it was a pretty hard decision to make when I decided to rewrite the story but I'm glad I did. I just wasn't happy with it and I know a lot of you really loved it but I'm so glad you're on board with the rewrite. Hopefully it lives up the original's standards, just with better writing. Thank you so much!

While it's true that there's only a few reviews, I still enjoy writing Lucky Ones and I hope you guys are enjoying it too. If not, tell me what I'm doing wrong and I'll work to fix it. If you are enjoying it, drop a review, favorite or follow! I'm just glad for the support, whether it shows or not. So you guys enjoy this update!


	7. Who needs a hero?

"I can't believe you're actually friends with them."

"I'm not."

"What's more, you didn't even bother to tell me!"

"Because it's not worth mentioning."

Fumiko had been nearly hysterical when she found out three members of the Host Club came for Izzy that Sunday afternoon. How could Izzy not tell her? It simply wasn't fair. And she wouldn't even tell her why they'd come in the first place. Chihiro had been pleased that Izzy seemingly made friends but was a little concerned that the friends were boys.

Izzy brushed all of it off, insisting that the visit was nothing to fuss about. Fumiko wasn't convinced but by the next day, she was mostly over it. If the other girls found out about the supposed friendship, it wouldn't bode too well for Izzy's reputation. None of the other girls had been able to befriend the Club so they wouldn't accept Izzy's relationship with them. Even if she insisted that there was no relationship to agonize over.

Izzy often stayed behind after Club hours to plan for her part in their ball. She hadn't even realized they had a piano in the first place until the twins snidely reminded her that they were located in the Music Room, after all. They were able to keep Izzy's involvement under wraps for nearly the entire duration of planning for the ball.

And then along came Renge.

The afternoon of planning the last bit of Izzy's involvement was going quietly until a large crackle interrupted their quiet atmosphere. Izzy was seemingly the only one to react, pausing at the piano. She blinked several times, blanching when the floor suddenly opened. A boisterous laughed echoed throughout the large room before a small blonde with a large pink bow appeared on a platform.

Izzy tilted her head and leaned to the side towards Mori, not breaking eye contact with the girl. "Um...Mori?" She prompted, forgetting how uneasy her classmate made her. She was too busy reeling from the girl appearing out of the floor.

He glanced down at her, Honey perched on his shoulders as always. "Mm?"

"Uh...a girl just came out of the floor."

"Mm."

"Is...is….is that a _normal_ occurrence?"

Mori only nodded, watching as Izzy tried to make sense out of the situation. She gave up after a few moments, sighing and shaking her head. "Of course it's normal," She muttered as the blonde jumped from the platform. She made her way to the piano that Izzy was perched at, eyes narrowed in thought.

"So you must be the young lady I've heard so much about," the blonde said immediately, stopping next to the piano. Izzy's fingers hovered over the ivory keys before she pulled them away, closing the lid. She placed her elbow on the lid and rested her chin against her fist, deciding that ignoring the loud girl wouldn't be in her best interest.

"Well, that depends on what you've heard," She replied smoothly, not too keen on the rumors the girl has probably heard of her. The last time she checked, she was a provocative and hot-blooded floozy. But then again, that Ozawa girl had been the only one to say so. She didn't know what the other girls were saying about her. She didn't really care.

"You're Giovanni Izabera, aren't you? The foreign girl?"

"I suppose so. And who you might be?" Izzy prompted, feeling as if she might regret even asking. The blonde wore a self-assured smirk and for some odd reason, it grated at Izzy's nerves. A loud, _annoying_ , boisterous laugh erupted from the girl. Izzy felt her composure slip for a split second, wondering what in the hell was so funny.

" _I_ ," the blonde threw her head back dramatically. "am Houshakuji Renge," She introduced herself to the older brunette. Izzy blinked rapidly, eyebrows quirked.

"Should...that name _mean_ something?"

"Of course it should!" Renge's cheerful disposition shattered. Izzy was sure that at this point, she was hallucinating because Renge's hair suddenly resembled writhing snakes, like Medusa. Izzy leaned backwards, palms held up with a disturbed expression across her features.

"Oh dear God," Izzy muttered distastefully, leaning even further back when Renge leaned in menacingly. She nearly toppled from the bench, only being saved when a firm hand planted against her shoulder. She tilted her head back just a bit and wasn't even surprised that Mori stopped her from reeling off of the bench in her attempt to get away from Renge. "Ah, thank you, Mori…"

"Renge," Kyoya decided to interrupt at that moment. He turned that phony smile on her and like every other girl attending Ouran, Renge fell right for it. Izzy watched in mild interest as her writhing hair seemed to settle.

"Medusa…" Izzy muttered thoughtlessly.

"Giovanni-hime, Renge is the Host Club's current manager," Kyoya explained peacefully. Izzy only raised her eyebrows at the notion. Renge nodded her head along to his words but suddenly turned her attention on Haruhi, losing interest in the entire conversation.

Izzy waited until the blonde was too absorbed in her conversation with Haruhi to speak up. "She manages the Club? Interesting….how important is her family's business to yours?"

" _Very_." Kyoya replied in a cheerful but firm tone. "So remember to treat her accordingly, Giovanni-hime."

Izzy rolled her eyes but nodded nonetheless. It wasn't even five minutes later that Renge was back, hovering at the side of the piano. She blatantly eyed the older brunette, a slight frown marring her pretty features. At first, Izzy ignored the girl but after several seconds️, she grew restless under her gaze.

She took a deep breath before turning towards Renge with a tight smile. "Is there something you need?"

"What's your type, Senpai?"

"My type?" Izzy repeated blankly. "Oh. You mean the boys," She nodded in the general direction of the Club. "I don't really have a type," She said thoughtlessly.

"Everyone has a type."

Izzy felt her eyes narrow but remembered Kyoya's earlier warnings. She wasn't necessarily afraid of Kyoya but she didn't feel like dealing with his wrath if she offended this girl. The brunette took a deep breath and steeled her waning patience. "I really don't have a specific type but I spend my time with Haruhi or Honey-chan and Mori."

Renge hummed in thought, head tilting to the side. She rubbed her chin and smiled politely. Izzy didn't like that one bit. "I see and tell me, what's your current involvement that you need to stay behind after hours?"

Izzy looked down at the piano and then looked back at Renge. Clearly she thought Izzy was here on her own free will. Ha, as if. Although to be quite honest, the Host Club had yet to annoy her lately. Well, the twins and Tamaki did their best not to get under her skin and though she'd rather not admit to it, they'd been getting along well.

"I agreed to one of Tamaki's whims, of course," Izzy replied while lifting the lid of the piano. She ran her fingers over the ivory keys, somewhat lost in memories of her younger days. Masami was the one to teach her how to play the piano when she was just a kid. It had a special place in her heart. "I'll be lending my hand in playing the piano for their Ball this Saturday."

" _You_ can play?"

"Well," Izzy plucked a key with soft smile. "It would seem so, wouldn't it, Hime?" She asked serenely. Startled, Renge flinched backwards with a red face. Steam practically blew from her ears and she babbled something nearly inchorrent before turning and hurrying towards Kyoya and Tamaki. Izzy watched the blonde retreat, smile now gone in favor of a look of confusion. "Was it something I said?" She asked, blinking owlishly.

"That was interesting," Kaoru drawled, suddenly plopping down next to her. Izzy only continued to frown in confusion. If she somehow offended Renge, Kyoya was going to mercilessly torture her someway, somehow.

"I was _trying_ to be nice," Izzy said defensively as Hikaru leaned against the piano. "What did I do wrong?" She asked, on the verge of pouting.

"You sounded like a Host just now, Giovanni-hime," Hikaru said in the same lazy tone of his brother.

"Eh?" Izzy, like Renge, flushed at the notion. "She…" the brunette looked down at her lap. "She realizes that I'm a _girl_ , yes?"

"Girls can be Hostesses, Hime."

"Yes but _I'm_ not. And didn't I tell you all to quit it with that Hime nonsense?"

"What are we supposed to call you?"

Izzy rolled her eyes at the repeated question. "My fri—" She paused, suddenly looking rather pale for her mocha complexion. "Izzy is just fine. Or Bera. Really, anything but Giovanni-hime is just fine."

"And...what about _Berry_ -chan?"

"Absolutely not."

* * *

"Renge has a big mouth."

Izzy scowled distastefully the very next day. Yuna, Ayame and Fumiko glanced at one another, figuring Izzy hadn't had the best day now that everyone knew she was taking part in the Host's Ball. It was obvious that being the center of attention made the brunette uncomfortable. And unfortunately for her, she was all everybody was talking about at the moment.

"It's kind of you to lend your talents, Bera-chan," Yuna spoke up first, hoping to soothe Izzy's waning temper. "It would have been a nice surprise though. Renge-chan is just too excitable."

"She's a demon, just like Ootori."

"Bera-chan," Ayame admonished with a frown. "That isn't nice and he'll hear you," She reminded her, nodding her head into the direction of Kyoya and Tamaki. Izzy followed her gaze, blankly watching as Tamaki noticed her staring. He smiled brightly and began waving enthusiastically. Izzy snorted and knowing he wouldn't stop until she acknowledged him, waved back at him.

"He knows what he is," Izzy replied simply, still waving at Tamaki. Fumiko watched the interaction with obvious interest. She wasn't sure if she could call the relationship between her cousin and the Host Club a friendship but there was something there that wasn't there before.

But whatever it was, it was... _odd._ Izzy basically turned her nose down at the notion of the Host Club and though she did put up an effort to avoid spending time with them, it seemed it was all for naught because somehow, someway, she managed to find a place within the Club. Although she'd probably deny these facts.

"Besides, he's probably already heard me," Izzy smiled wanly, settling her hand back into her lap.

"Have you decided what you'll wear to their ball, Bera-chan?" Yuna decided to ask kindly, hoping to change the subject. "If not, you're more than welcomed to join us for dress shopping tomorrow afternoon."

"Ah, more shopping?" Izzy shot Fumiko a pointed look. "But no thank you. Hikaru and Kaoru have already picked a dress out for me to wear."

The table was awkwardly quiet as the three stared at the older brunette. "You...they...they _picked_ out a dress for _you_?" Ayame nearly tripped and fumbled over her words, feeling a spike of jealousy.

"Yeah, not that I was very willing at first but those boys can be very persuasive. Besides, they said that I had to look the part since I'll be representing their Club," Izzy explained in a careless manner. "Who I am to argue with that logic?"

"It seems that you've become quite close with them, Iz," Fumiko pouted at the notion. "They _never_ let girls get close to them like that, except for Renge-chan," Fumiko pointed out, wondering what on Earth Izzy had done to gain favor with the club members.

"Mm, I wouldn't say that. When this party of theirs is finished, it'll go back to normal and they'll treat me like the rest of the girls."

But of course, fate had different plans for Izzy. Too bad she was none the wiser.

* * *

"And then Haruhi ended up kissing Kanako?" Izzy asked with wide eyes some hours before the scheduled ball. She was sitting still as Hikaru and Kaoru fussed over her hair and makeup. They were a bit surprised that she wasn't fighting them off and in turn, they told her some of their past adventures.

"It was Boss' fault," Hikaru stuck his tongue out.

"He was devastated, it was her first kiss, after all," Kaoru finished his brother's train of thought. The revelation made Izzy laugh and though she couldn't see it, Hikaru and Kaoru shared matching grins of victory. "Have you had your first kiss, Izzy-chan?"

Izzy made a sour face, puckering her lips. "Unfortunately," She answered. "I was fourteen and it was with the son of one of my father's business partners."

"Ahh, Izzy-chan has experience," Hikaru wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. His comment would have warranted a quick slap from her but Izzy only snorted.

"I wouldn't say that. It was like being kissed by an octopus with a suction cup for a mouth. Worst experience of my life, I was traumatized. I didn't even want him to kiss me, it was like an ambush," Izzy said with obvious distaste. Hikaru and Kaoru snickered at her revelations and Izzy easily joined in. "When he finally dislodged himself from my mouth, I punched him."

"I'm not surprised."

Their conversation was cut short by Kyoya. He approached them, absently fixing his cuff links. "Izabera," He greeted. After Izzy insisted on them not calling her Hime, Kyoya seemed to have dropped any and all formality with her. Not that it really bothered her, she simply thought it was a bit odd for him.

"Kyoya," Izzy intoned in her usual blank voice. "My, don't you look handsome? The purple really brings out the evil in your eyes," She smiled haughtily while leaning back to look at him.

Kyoya closed his eyes and smiled politely, deciding not to entertain Izzy's naturally snarky nature. "Remember what we've discussed this entire week, Izabera," He said instead, watching as she rolled her eyes. She continued to smile despite her exasperation.

"How could I possibly forget, Kyoya? You've subtly threatened me several times," She pointed out, reaching up to twirl her finger around a lock of hair. Hikaru swatted at her hand with the back of the hairbrush, grinning when Izzy hissed at him. She held her hand to her chest and shot him a dark look. "I got it, okay? Play the piano, mingle and treat the girls kindly. I'm not going to embarrass your club," She said just as Kaoru pinched her lips together into a pucker.

"Stop talking, Izzy-chan, you'll smudge the lipstick," He admonished her, coming at her with the makeup brush to fix her mouth. Hikaru began fixing her hair up, mumbling about the thick mane of hair.

"And remember," Izzy called after Kyoya's retreating back, despite Kaoru pinching harder at her face, "Have fun!"

* * *

If anyone asked Izzy to repeat just a single sentence of Tamaki's opening speech, she wouldn't be able to do so. She stood with Fumiko, who was dressed in a pretty dusty pink dress, with her arms folded. Even though she wanted to avoid it, she stood out in stark contrast to the other girls.

She was swathed in the bronze dress they agreed on, which to her dismay, fit a little tighter than she remembered. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that was the twins' doing. Her mane of curls was tamed into a messy braided crown. She didn't have much accessories but a Grecian-styled circlet. Her makeup was done in subtle tones, anything more would have made her unapproachable and that's not what they wanted at all.

One minute she was standing with her cousin and the next minute, she felt a blindingly bright light flash over her. Her eyes widened as she stood there, looking back and forth. Luckily for her, Fumiko paid close attention to Tamaki's words and leaned over towards her cousin. "You have to go play the piano now, Iz."

She wanted to take her heel off and throw it at Tamaki. There was no way it was necessary to flash a damn spotlight like that on her. Instead, she remembered all of Kyoya's warnings and threats and decided to smile amicably. Deciding that she would strangle Tamaki later, she started her trek towards the grand piano that was probably from the Victorian era. She huffed a silent smile and wondered if anything the Host Club did was simple.

Izzy approached the piano with an almost graceful sway. She reached forward and slowly drew her hand down the ivory keys, still smiling. If they only knew how much Tamaki and Kyoya made her practice the silly walk. They might be ridiculous but Izzy had to admit that they were a dedicated group to their cause. Even if their cause was quite absurd.

Ah, but to each their own.

She plucked an experimental key and almost cringed because the Ballroom was silent, just waiting for her to begin playing. She slid to the bench in a smooth swoop, laying her slim fingers against the keys. She kept in mind to play something romantic but upbeat.

Izzy played and suddenly the Ball was in full swing.

The brunette played until her fingers ached but to her, the feeling was welcomed. She had fond memories of playing for Masami while growing up. But as Alphonse's Empire expanded, Masami had less time to spend with her musically inclined daughter. And while her brothers doted on her, classical music was never their cup of tea.

"Izabera," Kyoya was suddenly at her shoulder, nearly startling her. She jumped, eyes wide and mouth pinched. He noted, in mild interest, that she continued to play despite her discomfort with his presence. "You've played for quite some time. A break is in order."

Izzy's playing came to a slow stop. She looked up at him, shaking the distant memories of her childhood away with a slight nod of her head. "Oh? Well, then, I suppose you aren't a total slave driver, yes?" She prompted with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. She was actually grateful to the Shadow King's distraction. She was far too deep in her memories, she barely recalled what she'd been playing not even five minutes ago.

"Remember the rules, Izabera," Kyoya said in a stony voice before moving away to do whatever it was he did best. Izzy only hummed in compliance before standing to her usual height. Hazel-brown eyes searched the Ballroom, wondering what her friends were up to. To her amusement, Fumiko was dancing with Haruhi while Yuna was...talking to that Ozawa girl. Izzy tried not to scowl at the honey blonde in the pretty peach dress.

"Bera-chan!" Ayame suddenly appeared, dressed in a navy blue dress. Her hair was piled on top of her head, a nice change from her usual pigtails, and she was grinning almost manically. Izzy caught her as the younger girl barreled into her, catching her by the forearms to steady her.

"Ayame, you shouldn't run around like this. You could fall," Izzy scolded the younger girl with a frown. "And it's in bad taste. Ladies shouldn't run or something like that, I don't know," She added with a dash of amusement.

"Oh, who cares about that?" Ayame grinned excitedly at the brunette, nearly bouncing in her heels. "There's more important things to discuss!"

"If you ask me one more time about the Host Club, I'll strangle you."

"No. No, it's not about the Host Club."

"Shocking."

"It's about you!"

"And what about me?"

Ayame leaned in close, using Izzy's hold and the aid of her heels to lean in exceptionally close to her face. It really was a shame that Izzy wouldn't consider modeling. She was just so tall and pretty and oh wait….she was over there for a reason.

"You have a secret admirer and he wants to meet with you!"

Izzy didn't smile like she should have smiled. Instead she frowned with a quirked brow. "That's….nice? I suppose?" She pieced together slowly, not the least bit interested. Izzy didn't have time for secret admirers. She wasn't interested in seeking a romantic relationship with anyone, for that manner. She'd been the same way since starting high school, even when boys began to notice the tomboyish Giovanni flourish into a pretty young lady.

She wasn't sure why they thought her personality had done a complete 180 just because she grew into her face and developed curves. She was still the same girl who used to beat them all up for picking with the girls during their primary years. The fact that she was older didn't change a thing. Besides, she wasn't sure why any of them even bothered trying to date her when the other girls their age were more than willing to date.

"Don't be like that, Bera-chan," Ayame chided, pulling herself out of Izzy's grasp. She clung onto Izzy with a surprisingly strong grip and began to lead her through the bustle of the Ball. Izzy was sure that she could overpower her but decided to go along with Ayame's whims. Just because she had some secret admirer didn't mean she had to accept the boy's advances, whoever he may be.

Izzy tried to think back to any boy that might have shown her a bit of interest during her classes. She really couldn't come up with anyone who might have shown any interest in her. In fact, she realized that she mostly spent her time in class socializing with Mori and Honey.

Odd.

Ayame rushed outside, still holding onto Izzy with her freakish vice-like grip. She pulled her towards the large fountain, grinning all the while. "Now, Bera-chan, be nice, won't you? At least give him a chance before ripping him to shreds."

"Am I really that awful of a girl?" Izzy asked in wry amusement, sitting on the lip of the fountain. She folded one long leg over the other, bobbing her foot to some unknown rhythm. Ayama only smiled down at her but shrugged innocently.

"Just be nice!" She leaned forward to pinch Izzy's bare shoulder before rushing back into the ballroom. Izzy watched the excitable brunette go, smiling softly and shaking her head. She really didn't understand teen romance but she would at least give the boy a chance to speak his mind.

She heard echoing footsteps and slowly looked up, surprised to see a boy that was obviously younger than her. He was probably just a tad bit taller than her with black hair that sat up in spikes and familiar green eyes.

They reminded her of the green eyes that every Morimoto inherited save for herself. It was odd how they all seemed to have green eyes, maybe they were different shades of green, but each family member of Hiroki's side inherited them. Fumiko's eyes were a dark forest green, Masami's eyes were like glittering jade and Chihiro's eyes were dark office green.

This boy had eyes similar to Fumiko's eyes, maybe just a couple of shades lighter.

"Ah, are you the admirer my friend spoke about?" Izzy prompted first, knowing she'd seen this boy somewhere. Maybe in passing? He looked to be around Fumiko's age so perhaps she'd seen him in the second year's dining hall? It was possible, she supposed, and it made her feel bad if he really was the admirer. She barely paid anyone any mind.

"You mean, you truly don't remember me, Busy-bee?"

"Sorry I—" Izzy came to a sharp pause, blinking owlishly. "What did you just call me?" She asked slowly, head tilting to the side. No one outside of her family called her Busy-bee. Hell, no one but her immediate family called her that. Her father's side of the family had an endless supply of nicknames but none of them used Busy-bee. "Do I know you?"

The boy held a hand to his heart as if wounded. "Busy-bee, I'm hurt, really," He shook his head, sighing heavily. Izzy felt her temper flare, she was never the patient type and it was easily showing.

"I don't have time for this," She snapped, standing up. "If all you're going to do is play games, then I'll take my leave first. I knew this was pointless…"

"You really don't recognize your own cousin? How shameful."

Izzy came to yet another pause, slightly turned as she was in the middle of leaving. Her face pinched as she regarded the younger boy. His features were a little sharper but he did resemble Fumiko, somewhat. She squinted at the boy, head tilted to the side.

"Ka... _Katsu?_ "

She never actually met Katsu in person. Takuma made damn sure of that. She spoke with him several times over the phone during their childhood thanks to Masami and Kioka's combined efforts but his voice sounded much different. She supposed he had puberty to thank for that.

Katsu smiled at her but it made her uncomfortable. Without warning, he closed in on her. Izzy felt herself back up but stopped short when she nearly tripped into the fountain behind her. "We finally meet," Katsu breathed a sigh of happiness, nearly crowding her against the fountain. "I've waited for this moment."

Izzy was officially creeped out.

"I'm not sure your father would approve," Izzy uttered slowly, watching as his green eyes narrowed. "Katsu, you don't attend Ouran, how did you get in here? Does your father even know you're here?"

Katsu's expression stilled into a stony mask of indifference. "You shouldn't have come, Izabera," He said, doing a complete 180. "Everything was fine until _you_ showed up. You need to go back."

"Go back?"

"Where you belong," Katsu sneered. Izzy realized that he was actually taller than she thought. They were about the same height with her wearing heels. But Katsu seemed to be around Kyoya or Tamaki's height. Well, that was disheartening. "You don't belong here," He breathed down at her, green eyes narrowed.

If he crowded her any further, she was going to go crashing into the fountain. She reached up to catch his shoulder in an iron grip to prevent herself from falling. If she did end up falling, she was going to take Katsu with her.

"And who are you to tell me where I belong and don't belong?" She demanded hotly, grip tightening on his shoulder. "What I do and don't do is not up for you to decide. I see you've inherited some of your father's awful quirks," She continued to snap at him. Nevermind that she was against the notion of living in Japan in the first place but hell if she would tell Katsu about that.

Katsu yanked her hand from his shoulder and grabbed at her other hand in one quick snatch. She nearly went careening backwards but his freakishly strong grip on her prevented it. Instead he drew her closer until she pressed against him with no breathing room. The contact made her entirely uncomfortable and she felt herself squirming in an attempt to escape.

"Let go," Izzy demanded, schooling her features. "I don't have time for this and the fact that you tricked my friend into thinking you were some admirer to lure me out here says a lot about your character," Izzy growled at him while trying to tug her wrists away. "Now, _please_ , let go. I won't ask again."

"Your manners are atrocious, dear cousin."

" _My_ manners? Are you stu—" Izzy stopped herself from going off on a full rant. Instead she took a deep breath and rolled her eyes. "I don't have time for whatever you're playing at," She pulled at her trapped wrists once more. The minute she broke his grip on her, she was punching her cousin in the face. To Hell with holding her composure, she was going to take her heel off and beat him with it.

"Is there someone you need to get back to?"

Of course not but he didn't need to know that. Fumiko and Yuna were unaware that she was even out here in the first place and Ayame had been tricked. There was no one to get back to because no one would think to check on her. No one knew she was stuck out here with Katsu and that meant she was going to have to beat him senseless.

"Berry-chan!"

Izzy jumped and for the second time, nearly pitched backwards into the fountain. That damn fountain was starting to give her anxiety, she really needed to get out of Katsu's hold and away from it. She had every intention of twirling them around and shoving him into the fountain since he insisted on invading her personal space.

Too bad she couldn't carry out her plan. Instead an arm slipped around her waist, hand coming to rest at her hip. She was easily jerked right out of Katsu's grip and tossed to the other arm. She fell against the arm with ease, eyes widened and arms still propped up as if Katsu was still clinging onto them.

"We've been looking everywhere for you, Berry-chan."

Izzy glanced down, spotting Honey regarding her with an entirely too innocent face. She leaned her head back and nearly paled at the sight of Mori. Just as quickly as she paled, her face heated up. He hadn't looked at her, too busy staring Katsu down, and she was grateful. She was sure she'd lose all composure if he turned his attention on her.

"I...you both didn't have to come out here for me," Izzy managed to say, struggling to keep her face from turning too red. Hopefully they couldn't see the blush in the low-lighting.

"You've been gone too long," Mori said, simple and to the point.

"I wasn't aware that I was needed.."

"Berry-chan, the night is almost over and you haven't danced with us," Honey pointed out.

Izzy blinked in silence. "Us? I...I wasn't aware that you were waiting for me to dance with either of you…" She trailed off incredulously. She honestly doubted that Mori wanted to dance with her but if it got her away from Katsu, she'd take it. "Well, Katsu, as you can see," She began to say in kind tone. "I'm actually needed back inside. This was fun, _really_ , but no more surprise visits, yes? It's in poor taste."

Mori shifted his arm, allowing Izzy to stand upright. She offered one last fleeting smile to Katsu, who's face darkened considerably, before allowing herself to be led back into the bustling ball.

"Who was that, Berry-chan?"

"My younger cousin, Katsu."

"He didn't seem very nice."

"He was a bit out of sorts, wasn't he? I'm not certain but I'm sure he's not usually like that."

"Are you alright?" Mori asked.

Izzy's head popped up towards him, momentarily baffled with his sudden concern. She was sure the face she was making at him was odd, a mix of both sadness and surprise. Sadness because whoever the hell that was just now couldn't have been her soft spoken cousin. And surprise because why in the world would Mori really care if she was alright or not? To be quite honest, he probably just followed after Honey once they realized she was absent.

"Yes, I suppose so," She finally managed to say after realizing they'd been silently staring at one another. "I was just surprised to see him so suddenly, is all," She tried to remain aloof but she had this look in her eyes that told a different story. She conveniently left out the fact that she hadn't even recognized him at first. "But thank you for retrieving me. I suppose it's time to play again?"

Honey caught onto her hand with his smaller hands, tugging insistently on it. She had to lean to the side to accommodate all of his tuggings, lightly chiding him all the while. "But we haven't danced yet, Berry-chan. We have to dance," He insisted, eyes suddenly turning pleading. She knew as well as he did that there was no denying him once he turned those honeyed eyes on her.

"Oh, alright, Honey-chan, but just one dance. I'm sure my break from playing is nearly over."

"Don't forget about Takashi's dance."

"Yes, of course, if he wants to."

"I do."

Well, that settles that, doesn't it?

Izzy tried not to grimace as she let Honey yank her towards the designated dance floor. He was certainly stronger than he looked, she found out.

Dancing with Honey, Izzy figured out, that it wasn't really considered dancing. It was more so her spinning him around the room. She hadn't been too keen to the idea of swinging him around the room in heels and a dress but it surprisingly worked out well. Izzy was sure it was thanks to her strong legs from her dancing years.

By the time she was done with spinning around the room with Honey, she was laughingly out of breath. It put her in such a good mood that she didn't even think twice about turning to smile up at Mori. "Would you still like to dance?" She asked in a charming but breathless voice.

Of course he wouldn't actually deny her. He was a Host after all and though physically stronger, Kyoya would think of someway to retaliate if Mori denied a girl's request. Even if the girl happened to be Izzy.

She was all too aware of the large hand propped against her back. She tried not to grip too hard at his shoulder, nervous that she could possibly hurt him.

Despite her nervousness, she was grateful. With her tall stature paired with heels, boys often avoided dancing with her. She usually had to settle with dancing with her brothers since they were the only ones who stood over her. Even with her heels on, Mori still managed to considerably tower over her. To be quite honest, she was impressed with how well he danced but didn't say as much. It would come off as rude and the last thing she wanted to do was insult him.

She felt a dull ache from her wrists from the combined efforts of Katsu's strength and her swinging Honey around the room. She was sure there would be some bruises blooming there later on and nearly sighed at the thought.

"Izabera-chan," Mori's mouth suddenly dropped closer to her, breath tickling her cheeks. She nearly startled backwards but managed to salvage her pride by blinking at him. Izzy hadn't even realized she managed to zone out while still dancing with him. "Are you sure you're alright?"

She had taken notice that the entire Host Club seemingly dropped their formalities with her, opting to call her by her name and not her last name. They still used honorifics, which she thought to be odd, but her last name had been completely dropped.

Izzy noticed his silver gaze were drawn to the hand resting in his. She wasn't sure what gave her discomfort away and it unnerved her that Mori noticed whatever she hadn't. Maybe it was the light grip she had on his hand? The bruises hadn't begin to form so how could he possibly know something was up was beyond her.

"I…" Izzy looked over his shoulder, knowing she wouldn't keep a straight face if she looked him the eye. "I'm fine, just tired is all," She said instead of being truthful. Her encounter with Katsu left her vexed and uncomfortable but she saw no point in telling Mori.

The warm hand placed against her back abruptly became firm and she found herself pressed to Mori like she'd been pressed to Katsu. However, Katsu's touch had felt all wrong and inappropriate. And she supposed being pressed against Mori was improper as well but..it just felt so... _nice_.

Izzy had no choice but to look him in the eyes at this point. She wore a stunned expression but she didn't break eye contact this time. "Uh…"

"You're stubborn."

Usually when someone would call her stubborn, she'd react sourly. If it had been the twins making such a statement, she'd slap them and Tamaki, she'd verbally beat down. Kyoya, she'd trade barbed words with and Haruhi, she'd just stare at her. She doubted Honey would even call her stubborn. She wouldn't take Fumiko, Yuna or Ayame seriously.

But Mori's very plain accusation caused her to flush deeply. She broke their staring contest, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. "Yes, I've been told," She said after chewing at her lip.

He looked like he wanted to say more but the song they were waltzing to came to a sudden pause. Izzy saw her opportunity and quickly pulled away from him, blushing even harder when when she felt his fingers slide against her back. "Well," She smiled tightly. "Thank you for the dance," She dipped into a curtsy, hoping her quick movements hadn't offended him.

Just as she was about to run off in the most dignified way possible, Hikaru and Kaoru popped up at her sides. They pressed into her, sandwiching her between them. She duly noted there being no warmth from their presence.

"We didn't know you would dance tonight, Izzy-chan," Hikaru said in a lazy drawl, arm slipping around her waist. To her surprise, she didn't react to it.

"You didn't ask," She replied curtly.

And that was all it took for them to whisk the interacial girl away into dancing with them. It was a bit confusing to dance with them since they relished in tossing her back and forth between them. Ballroom dancing was never meant for three but the trio somehow managed.

As the night waned, Izzy found herself dancing with each of the Hosts. It was almost enough to distract her from the odd feeling roiling in her stomach from her meeting with Katsu.

Almost.

* * *

"When you asked me to join you for quality time together, _this_ is not what I had in mind."

Chihiro only smiled at her niece, motioning for her to keep in stride. "Well, what did you have in mind?" Chihiro asked in good nature. She was dressed in a dark blue dress reminiscent of the 1950's fashion style that fit her frame well with a pair of stylish heels. A matching blazer hung from her slight shoulders, completing her fashionable look.

"I don't know, shopping?" Izzy asked drily. She was dressed in denim jeans with a slouchy but shoulderless green sweater. The sweater hung tastefully from her body, sleeves so long that they covered her hands. She'd woken early that morning to discover splotchy purple bruises clustered at her wrists from Katsu's tight grip. It didn't surprise her, only annoying her.

"Now why would I take you shopping? You're absolutely terrible company when it comes to our trips. I would simply ask Fufu to come with me to shop."

Izzy leveled her aunt with a dry look, slightly offended that she'd been called terrible company. "Fumi gets her terrible spending habits from you, doesn't she?" She asked, using her height to search for two available seats.

She found some quite easily and led her aunt towards them, looking bored all the while. "Well, she doesn't get it from her father," Chihiro remarked innocently when they settled comfortably. Izzy snorted at her aunt's wayward nature peeking through and reclined into her chair.

"Explain this to me, aunt Chi, I don't see the point of hitting each other with sticks," Izzy waved fleetingly down towards the center of the room.

"I don't see the point of kicking a ball back and forth."

" _Football_ is a national sport."

"Here we like to call it soccer."

"Bah. Americans renamed it that but it's _football_ ," She waved a fleeting hand. Chihiro could only chuckle. Izzy defended football just as fiercely as her father and brothers.

"They're not _sticks_ ," Chihiro said, patting at Izzy's leg. "They're made out of Bamboo."

"Which are, essentially, sticks."

"Hush and let me finish explaining," Chihiro lightly chided her impatient niece. Chihiro sprang into an explanation, explaining the ins and outs of Kendo. Izzy seemed to understand it for the most part but it was obvious she still held football in a higher regard.

But this was something Chihiro obviously enjoyed so Izzy kept her sarcastic comments to herself. Unlike Fumiko, Izzy was willing to watch sports. It wasn't that she necessarily enjoyed sports, she was just used to watching them. Her brothers often dragged her along to tournaments when leaving her home wasn't an option.

Fumiko hated sports. And while Izzy didn't hate them, she wasn't much of a fan either. She simply tolerated sports for the sake of whoever's company she found herself in.

But Chihiro was quite fond of kendo, having grown up with it due to her father's interest in it. What surprised her was Chihiro's casual remark that Masami was also fond of kendo, even more so than Chihiro. Izzy couldn't recall her mother ever talking about the sport but perhaps it had been something she, Chi and Hiroki bonded over while they were growing up.

Izzy really couldn't understand the hype about kendo but it was tolerable. What impressed her so much were the heavy uniforms they were required to wear. It was a wonder no one passed out from heatstroke.

For Chihiro's sake, she paid close attention to the matches. It was interesting enough, holding her attention enough that she would ask questions every now and then. It probably meant a lot to her aunt that she was actually trying to keep up with it. She reminded herself to call Masami later and ask about her interest in kendo.

She zoned out at some point but Chihiro didn't seem to notice. Too engrossed with the tournament, she barely noticed when Izzy's gaze became vacant.

Her thoughts wandered to Katsu. His sudden hostility confused her. She couldn't recall a time where there was friction between the two of them. They got along pretty well seeing as how they only ever spoke on the phone. She knew his father wasn't at all fond of her but that never seemed to stop Katsu from speaking with her.

And what was with that whole ' _you don't belong here_ ' nonsense anyway? Who the hell was he to decide that? And what difference did it make now that she was staying in Japan for the year?

Suddenly Chihiro's words jumped to the forefront of Izzy's mind, slapping some sense into her. " _Shinobu sees something in you that's not in Fumi or Katsu. I see it too."_

Izzy blanched but Chihiro didn't take any notice. Katsu's hostilities stemmed from the potential she had to someday inherit and run the Morimoto family's business. Well, he could just toss that idea out because she had no intentions whatsoever to take over once she was of age.

Her brothers would often joke that Izzy's bossy and no-nonsense attitude was perfect to be in charge but Izzy always disagreed. Telling people what to do and not taking their crap didn't mean she was fit to run a million dollar company. It took more than that and Izzy didn't know the first thing about heading an expensive company.

No, she was perfectly content with attending a University and getting a job based on whatever degree she wanted. She had no plans to inherit either companies. If Katsu wanted that position, he'd have to beat Fumiko out, not her.

Oh, she would have to set things straight.

"Ah!" Chihiro broke her from her grim thoughts. "He won, as expected," a wide smile pulled at her lips. Izzy blinked out of her daze, trying to catch up. She climbed to her feet at her Aunt's insistence, hurrying after the smaller woman.

Izzy hung back once she realized the people Chihiro spoke to were business associates. There was no way she'd get involved with their conversations. At some point, they would ask her about her future plans and if Chihiro and Shinobu were grooming her to take over now that she was in Japan. Izzy did not have enough patience to deal with that sort of conversation.

"Oh, it's Berry-chan!"

Honey came bounding towards her, catching her off guard like he normally seemed to do these days. To her amusement, he didn't come flying at her waist in one of his infamous hugs. She figured that since they were in a more formal setting, he'd have to act somewhat accordingly.

She squatted down to his level and let him give her a regular hug anyway. "Well, if it isn't Honey-chan. Where's Mori?" She asked, tucking her slim arms around him. "You're here by yourself?"

Honey pulled away from her, smiling brightly as per usual. He didn't immediately answer, causing Izzy to quietly regard him with a quirked brow. A shadow fell over the two, prompting Izzy to look up. A very tall figure stood over them, dressed in the heavy kendo uniform. Izzy blinked at the figure, squinting slightly.

"Mori?" She nearly squawked as he pulled off the protective headgear. "That was _you_?" Izzy pulled her arms away from Honey and stretched back to her regular height. "You're the one who won! Is there anything you can't do?" She asked with a thoughtful smile. "I'm actually impressed. You moved so fast even though this armor you wear looks heavy," Izzy complimented him, tapping the front of his chest armor.

"Takashi is a national champion," Honey grinned, patting at Izzy's leg to gain her attention. She glanced down at him, wondering if he was bragging _for_ Mori.

"A champion? Well, that's just not fair," Izzy grinned widely. She pulled her hand away from his chest only to have Mori catch her hand in a firm grip. The brunette blinked at him, eyes dropping to their hands. His fingers tightened around her palm, halting her from backing away. Izzy raised her eyebrows, wiggling her fingers. "Mori? I need my hand," She stated, trying to jokingly hide her discomfort.

But he ignored her, opting to pull her sleeve down with his other hand. Izzy vaguely wondered when Mori handed his headgear to Honey. Her sleeve was pushed down her forearm, settling at her elbow.

The moment their eyes fell on her mottled wrist, she flushed instantly. "It's nothing," Izzy said quickly, reaching up with her free hand in an attempt to pry her hand from Mori's grip. "It's not even as bad as it looks and—wow you're very strong…"

"But it's still bad, Berry-chan."

"So's manhandling me."

Mori dropped her hand, allowing her to jerk her sleeve back down. She folded her arms across her chest, hoping that would keep him from grabbing her once more. Her eyes swept the room, making sure no one witnessed her messy wrist. "Look, it's really not a big deal or anything, okay? If it's alright with you two, I'd like to forget the entire spectacle, alright?"

They didn't immediately answer and Izzy felt herself bristling impatiently. She cocked her hip to the side and tapped her foot. " _Alright_?" She asked in a more firm tone.

"Okay, Berry-chan."

"Sure."

Her eyes darted between the two for a quiet second before she exhaled deeply. "Great, thank you," She nodded her head and stopped tapping her foot. Her name being called distracted her, prompting her to glance over her shoulder and miss the quick glance between Mori and Honey.

Chihiro waved her over, ready to go now that she was finished speaking with her business associates. Her dark brows sat high on her forehead at the sight of Mori standing over Izzy and Honey.

Izzy turned back to the duo, this time smiling pleasantly. "I have to go now but I'll see you two in class tomorrow. Congratulations on your win, Mori," She continued to smile while waving at them. Quickly she set off for her aunt, physically pushing her into motion when Chihiro's gaze remained glued to Honey and Mori.

She was sure that was the last time there would be any mention of Katsu and her brusied wrists. Too bad Izzy wasn't aware that the Host Club could be just as difficult as her.

Too bad, indeed.

* * *

TeeBeMe: Changed Katsu around a bit. Too bad Izzy can't catch a break. No one wants to listen to her. Hope you guys enjoyed the update!


	8. All the right friends

It was all quite simple.

Izabera needed friends.

Well, Tamaki supposed she had friends but she needed them, the Host Club. Sure, she had Fumiko, Yuna and Ayame and they seemed to get along well enough.

Except sometimes there was a noticeable disconnect between the trio of girls and Izabera. The trio of girls would get wrapped up in some conversation or another and Izabera would just….phase out of the conversations. She kept her ears open enough to keep track of their conversations but she didn't contribute too much. Izabera seemed mostly content to sit and listen to the trio prattle on and on about things that didn't quite interest her. However, when she was in their presence, she seemed to come alive. Her snarky attitude, stubbornness and sharp wit seemed to fit much better with them versus the three young ladies.

So Tamaki was determined to make that girl their friend. Besides, her older femininity might help Haruhi become more feminine herself. At least appearance-wise, because Izabera was a tomboyish as they come. What's more, she knew about Haruhi's gender and hadn't said anything. She was nice to the girls even though she didn't think much of them.

"She's just going to yell at you," Haruhi stated blandly Monday afternoon before hosting hours started. But Tamaki was prepared for that.

Fumiko dragged Izabera in by her wrist, her mouth moving a mile per minute. Izabera followed obediently behind her with an uncomfortable look on her face. "Are you alright, Izabera-senpai?" He asked when Fumiko finally dropped her wrist. It felt wrong not to call a girl 'hime' but Izabera made it perfectly clear that she wasn't fond of that honorific. The genuine surprise on her face upset him. Like she was shocked that someone noticed her discomfort and worried for her. She quickly folded her arms behind her back and tried to give him a reassuring smile.

Strange.

"Oh, I'm fine," Izabera answered through her smile. "Sometimes my cousin's endless energy is a bit much," She shrugged a thin shoulder, avoiding his gaze. The leggy brunette was distracted when Honey waved her over. Odd how Honey designated her instead of the other way around. "I'm being summoned," Izabera said in surprisingly good nature. She kept her hands securely behind her back as she ventured towards Honey and Mori. She didn't immediately sit, opting to look down at Honey with her smile.

Her hands stayed behind her back, left hand curled very loosely around her right wrist. Honey didn't jump up like he would have normally to hug Izabera. He invited her to sit down with him and Mori, as opposed to sitting with their guests across from them. Izabera sat down smoothly, folding her hands and placing them in her lap. Tamaki kept his eye on the trio for the entire duration, noting that Izabera seemed to do more entertaining than being entertained. Not to say that she was upstaging them or anything, no, she seemed almost like an extension of them. Her charisma and ability to keep Honey's train of thought steady was quite impressive.

And the guests enjoyed Izabera's company, to the point of directing questions at her. Most of the questions had to do with her piano playing skills. Not that it surprised him. Izabera played the piano exceptionally well. Her records stated that she was a musical prodigy and a big part of him wanted to know what else she could play so well.

An idea began to form.

* * *

On a Tuesday afternoon, Izzy vowed to kill Ozawa Hisa. She didn't even know why the honey-blonde had it out for her as bad as she did. Ozawa was fairly popular but it wasn't like Izzy was trying to muscle in on her popularity. Izzy figured it had mostly to do with her relationship with the Host Club, specifically Mori. It frustrated Izzy because it wasn't like she had a special friendship or anything with Mori. If Ozawa wanted to pursue something with their classmate, why did she think Izzy was an obstacle?

And besides, wasn't there some absurd rule among the girls that they don't pursue the Host Club romantically? It would cause too much friction among them.

Not that any of them even had a chance but…

Moving on…

The point to all of this was that Izzy, in no way, deserved Ozawa's ire. Now if someone would just explain it to that airheaded bobblehead, life could be so much easier. But no one did so and that left Izzy to put up with Ozawa's shenanigans.

So that Tuesday afternoon, Izzy was minding her business as Fumiko, Yuna and Ayame prattled on about one thing or another. Sometimes she wondered why she opted to take lunch in the second year's dining hall. She supposed she could always eat lunch with…Honey and Mori. She hadn't done much to befriend any of her classmates and though she'd hate to admit it, those two were the closest ones she'd consider as friends.

But then she'd have to put up with their scrutinizing gazes directed at her wrists. Luckily the God-awful dress had sleeves long enough to hide her mottled wrists but that didn't really matter once she was in their presence. They'd seen the aftermath of her cousin's abuse with their own eyes and knew what exactly was hidden under her sleeves.

No, she couldn't spend time with them during the lunching hour.

"Yuna!" Ozawa was suddenly approaching their designated table with a great big smile. Izzy barely acknowledged her, wondering why the two seemed so friendly with one another. Yuna was such a sweet girl and Ozawa..well...she was _Ozawa_ , after all.

Anyway...Izzy was sitting there, blankly staring off into space when she felt something cold against her chest. Blankly, she looked down at her chest to see a rather dark stain ruining her uniform dress. The dark stain dripped to her lap, making it worse. "Oh!" Ozawa's shrill voice exclaimed above her. Numbly she looked up at the girl, not at all surprised to see dark glee in Ozawa's eyes. It took a couple of seconds for Izzy to connect the dots but once she did, she was livid.

Ozawa purposely 'spilled' her cold tea down the front of her dress. How she even managed the feat was beyond her but Izzy didn't have time to think about that.

She was going to wring this girl's neck.

Maybe Tamaki could sense her murderous intentions because he was suddenly there along with Kyoya. Izzy paid them no mind as she stood to her feet. She reached across the table with every intention of snatching Ozawa up by her neck but Tamaki intervened. "Izabera-senpai! Your dress will be ruined if you let that stain sit," He reminded her, snatching her away from Ozawa. She didn't give a damn about the stupid dress! She turned to tell him just that when he wrapped a long arm around her waist and all but dragged her out of the dining hall.

What was with this group and dragging her about like she's some rag doll?

Izzy didn't fight, opting to glare when Tamaki dragged her into the vacant Hosting room. He quickly tapped a message on his expensive phone before pushing her towards the backroom. "Go on, Senpai. Change out of the dress so we can send it off to be dry cleaned."

"And what am I supposed to change into?"

"Hikaru and Kaoru are coming with an extra uniform."

To this day, she wasn't sure why she believed the blond. But even so, she allowed him to push her into the backroom, shooting her one last smile before closing the door. She frowned suspiciously but decided that she really needed to get out of her soiled dress. She busied herself with undressing, being careful with her mottled wrists. They were still fresh and bothered her quite a bit. Luckily Chi nor Fumiko had taken notice. But Izzy was sure Chi would begin to notice her always wearing long-sleeved shirts around the house when they were more accustomed to seeing her wear simple tank tops.

She heard more voices behind the door and sighed. "Tamaki? The uniform, please," She called through the door. She cracked the door open but stopped herself from reaching out. If she reached out, they would see her bruised wrists.

Damn it all to Hell.

God decided to smile upon her for once because a hand slipped through the crack, holding a bundle of clothes. She muttered a quick thank you to whoever it was and took the bundle only to pause. The brunette unfolded the clothes carefully, frown deepening immensely. She approached the door a second time, this time poking her head out. Kyoya, Hikaru and Kaoru had joined Tamaki in waiting for her. She suspected Haruhi, Mori and Honey weren't necessarily needed and hadn't been called upon.

"What did you just hand me?"

Tamaki physically jumped but the others simply turned to look at her. Kaoru and Hikaru were smiling innocently. She didn't like that one bit. Kyoya remained impassive, as usual, and she didn't like that either.

"A uniform, Izzy-chan," Hikaru said rather simply.

"Keep up," Kaoru added rather snidely.

Izzy wished she had something to throw at either one of them. Instead she gave them a nasty scowl. "Do I look blind? This is _not_ the uniform."

"But it is, Izabera," Kyoya replied smoothly. "And I suggest you hurry up and put it on. The lunch hour is nearly over and I'm sure you would hate to be late for your next class."

"How can this possibly be allowed?" She snapped before vanishing back into the room. They heard her muttering to herself as she dressed, Italian curses mixed in with her angry Japanese. Hikaru and Kaoru grinned, utterly amused with the brunette's short temper. The door swung open, revealing an irate Izzy. She wasn't dressed in a spare dress like she believed. Instead, she'd been given something entirely different. It was Ouran's uniform alright, the _boy's uniform_. She was dressed in a white button-down shirt and blazer with the Ouran's emblem on the breast pocket. Instead of the slacks, a slim black pencil skirt was in its place. To finish the look, she had on a pair of sheer stockings and black mary-janes.

"Who authorized this?" She demanded hotly, eyes jumping between the foursome. "This has to be against some rule."

"Chairman Suoh okayed it once Tamaki explained the situation," Kyoya stated without a care in the world. Izzy directed her nasty glare at the blond.

"You couldn't get me a dress?"

"No, they were out of your size."

"I have a hard time believing that," Izzy huffed with her arms folded across her chest. "I know you're all up to something. I don't know what but I can tell you right now that I don't like it."

"You don't like anything, Izzy-chan," Hikaru grinned at her while waving her over. "Let's go before the lunch hour is over."

"We left Haruhi by herself," Kaoru mumbled just loud enough for Tamaki to hear. Before the blond could go off into a frantic rant about her, Izzy snatched him up to drag him back to the dining hall. Kyoya followed suit, nonplussed as usual.

Izzy had a bad feeling.

* * *

Her bad feeling was justified. The moment she stepped back into the dining hall, all eyes were on her and her impromptu uniform change. She could just hear the whispers filtering through the hall. She was going to kill Ozawa. And then Tamaki.

"My," Ozawa crooned when Izzy sat back down with Fumiko, Yuna and Ayame. Izzy openly scowled at the honey-blonde, wondering why she was still there and sitting with them. "I wasn't expecting something like... _this,"_ She smiled deviously, hiding it behind a perfectly manicured hand. Izzy wasn't fooled, staring at her blankly from across the table. Her anger managed to simmer down but she wasn't all that above reaching across the table to snatch the honey-blonde up.

"Oh?" Izzy drawled. "And I wasn't expecting to have your drink all over my dress but here we are. I'll send my dry cleaning bill to you."

"That seems fair," Yuna spoke up, giving Ozawa a long stare when she opened her mouth. "Hisa-chan will be glad to pay for your dry cleaning," She continued with a tight smile. Izzy wondered what was up with that.

"It's the least I could do," Ozawa sniffed prudishly. "Now tell us, what is up with that getup? A new uniform, perhaps?"

"Ask Tamaki," Izzy muttered rudely into her hand, not in the mood to discuss her wardrobe change.

What had she done to deserve any of this? The stares and whispers followed Izzy around for the rest of the day. By the time she made it to the Host Club, her patience for everyone and everything was null and void. In fact, she was somewhat hoping Ozawa would try to pick another fight with her just so she could have something to take her anger and frustration out on. Besides, it was Ozawa's fault to begin with.

"Berry-chan, you look nice dressed like us!" Honey all but shouted the moment she set foot in the Host room. Had he'd been anyone else, she would have glared nastily. But it was Honey so all she could muster was a very weak smile.

"It was Tamaki's doing," Izzy hummed in a bland tone. "Along with the combined efforts of Hikaru and Kaoru. Kyoya supervised," the brunette continued with a shrug of her shoulder. "Ozawa spilled her drink on my chest today."

"By accident?" Haruhi prompted as she skirted by with a tray of sweets.

"Supposedly," Izzy answered dryly. Seemingly done with the conversation, Honey bounded back towards Mori and the girls waiting for him. For whatever reason, Izzy decided to follow after Haruhi.

She would come to later regret that decision.

She tried to mostly stay quiet but everyone just had to ask questions about the damn uniform. She would have just ignored them too but she literally felt Kyoya watching her. By the time he was through with her, she'd have burst into a ball of flames. To their surprise, Izzy requested to speak to them after hours. She sent her cousin away with a quick wave and quietly waited until the last bit of girls finally left the room. The brunette's face remained stony, giving even Kyoya or Mori a run for their money. Once she was sure that no one was going to pop out of the floor or the damn ceiling, she rounded on Tamaki. Her arms were folded defensively against her chest but she pointed a finger at Tamaki.

"You tell me what the hell you're up to this instant."

"White Lily, I can assure you that I'm not up to anything."

"You're not that damn clever, Tamaki, now out with it before I hurt you."

Hikaru or Kaoru, she wasn't paying close enough attention to figure out which one, decided to butt in. "You shouldn't use that kind of crude language, Izzy-chan," his grin was crooked and his brother matched the grin. Izzy didn't see what was so funny.

Instead, she dug around in her school bag, producing a pink eraser. With a scowl she beamed the tool at his head. "I'm not talking to you right now," She hissed, ignoring his actions when he dramatically fell into his brother's arms. She rounded back on Tamaki, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I'm talking to _you_ so out with it. The fact that you had this outfit tailored to my size is a red flag. So out with it, _Capo."_

Honey approached Izzy, reaching up to pull on the end of her skirt. Her head snapped down, fiery eyes momentarily dying once she caught sight of him. "Yes?" She asked in a soft tone. Honey simply offered a coffee-flavored macaroon. Izzy blinked down at the pint-sized third year. Mori stood behind, ready to swoop Honey away if his offering failed. Honey tended to think that sweets were the answer to any problem presented.

To their surprise and amusement, Izzy took the peace offering. She nibbled on the treat, humming in delight. Honey reached up to grab her hand, guiding her towards a couch. Izzy plopped down rather obediently, allowing Honey to give her yet another macaroon. He scrambled up on the couch next to her and draped himself across her lap, halting her from jumping up. Izzy was obviously aware that Honey had duped her into calming down but it was a valiant effort so she let it go. "Well?" She glared at Tamaki. It wasn't as frightening with a macaroon being shoved into her face. Hell if that stopped her though. "I'm _waiting, Capo."_

"What does ' _capo'_ mean?" Honey asked distractedly.

Izzy would not be swayed. Instead she only smiled delicately at him and patted his head. "Well, white lily, you have to promise not to yell when I tell you this," Tamaki finally got his wits together, deciding that making Izzy wait any longer would cause even more problems for him. "You've become quite popular with our princesses, lately."

"I'm what now?"

"Popular," Kaoru and Hikaru chorused, dragging out the word for added effect. Izzy wasn't amused or impressed with their antics. Her expression said as much but she didn't banter with him. There was no way she was going to allow them to distract her from the problem at hand.

"More girls have come to visit the Host Club and several of them have asked about you," Tamaki quickly said before Izzy could lose her waning tolerance for them.

" _Your_ girls are asking about _me_?" Izzy repeated slowly, in an unimpressed tone. "I know these girls aren't entirely bright but they do know that I'm also a girl, yes?"

"Girls can be hostesses," the twins chorused again.

"You've said that but let's not forget that I'm _not_ a hostess. And why are these girls asking you things about me? What are they even asking you that they can't ask me?" She asked, eyebrow twitching in irritation. "They see me all the time in and between classes."

"The same reason they don't ask us certain questions," Kyoya said smartly. It was obvious that Izzy wasn't following them. She wished that they would stop being so damn elusive.

To her surprise, it was Mori who finally cleared the air. "They think you're a Host," He stated simply. She startled at his voice, shoulders visibly jumping before his words sank in. Her head snapped up, staring up at him with a bewildered look. He leaned against the back of the couch, blank-faced as usual. He held her gaze, waiting for her to jump up and attack Tamaki or the the twins.

Hazel brown eyes clouded in clear confusion flickered for several seconds. "I'm sorry, Mori, but could you repeat that?" She asked in a tight voice. It wasn't like she just liked hearing his voice or anything. It was a bonus but she really needed him to repeat his words. She was almost positive that she heard him wrong.

Mori quirked one dark brow but conceded to her request. "They think you're a Host."

The look of scandalization across Izzy's pretty features were nearly hilarious. Luckily, they all had the sense to keep their snickers and chortles to themselves. She didn't take the offered macaroon from Honey this time around. Izzy's mouth began moving, spitting out words like rapid fire. The only problem with that was she was speaking Italian. Her ranting came to an abrupt halt when Honey shoved the macaroon in her mouth. "Mmph!" She sputtered around the mouthful of sweets. She clapped her hands over her mouth and nearly coughed while chewing. "Honey-chan!" She gasped once she was finished. "You can't just shove food into people's mouths like that. It's not nice."

"But Berry-chan, we couldn't understand you," Honey turned his pouting face up towards you.

"I understand but you still shouldn't do things like that. Would you shove a treat into your guest's mouth?"

"You're not a guest, you're a Host," Hikaru grinned sadistically at her. Izzy rolled her eyes into his direction but she still opted to ignore him again. An odd look crossed her face at that moment, as if something slowly dawned on her.

"So...you're catering to their stupidity by dressing me up like this? Is that what you're doing? Did you tell Ozawa to spill her drink on me to have a reason to get me into this outfit? Because if that's the case, I'll strangle the both of you, do you hear me?" She threatened, eyes flashing dangerously. Perhaps Mori thought she would get up and follow through with her threat because his hand suddenly fell to her shoulder. He didn't add any pressure but Izzy was sure he could effortlessly keep her in place. Her eyes snapped down to the table in front of her, wondering if there was anything she could throw.

"I would never tell Ozawa-hime to do such a thing," Tamaki gaped at her audacity.

"No but you would capitalize off of it," Izzy huffed with a pout. "How did they even come to that conclusion?" She almost whined. Izzy tried to think back to all and any time she might have given the girls a reason to think she was a Host. All she'd done was sit there next to Haruhi or Honey and Mori, throwing in comments here or there. Was it because she played the piano at that damn ball? She knew she was going to regret playing at that damn party.

"Remember that day in the library, Izzy-senpai?" Haruhi suddenly prompted, deciding to step in. She had a feeling that if left to the others, their explanation would only infuriate Izzy and she really would try to strangle Tamaki. "Remember when we said that you seemed like a big sister?" She questioned carefully. Izzy's brow furrowed, wondering what the hell that had to do with anything. So what if Haruhi and Honey thought she acted like a big sister? She was older, more level headed and responsible. Qualities that apparently made for a good older sister, even though she was the youngest of her siblings.

"You're the big sister type!" Kaoru and Hikaru sung in unison for the third time. Izzy wondered if she should make the effort to tell them that they didn't need to speak simountainsly every time. Just because they were identical didn't mean they had to talk at the same time.

"The what?"

"Are you really having that much trouble following along?" Kyoya asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. Izzy eyed him with a scowl, seriously debating on throwing something. Honey and Mori were going out of their way to keep her seated but maybe she could throw her school bag? How pissed off would Kyoya be if she threw her bag at him? Was she angry enough to find out?

No, not in particular.

"I'm having trouble understanding why you guys cater to stupidity," Izzy muttered sourly before reminding herself to get back on track. "Look, type or no type, I'm not an actual host. I'm not a boy."

"Which is why we gave you a skirt," Hikaru grinned. "Besides, it would be almost impossible to trick anyone into thinking you're a boy," He shrugged indifferently. Izzy glanced at Haruhi, wondering if she took that statement to heart. As usual, Haruhi wasn't bothered by his words.

"I'm not a host and I'm not the big sister type," Izzy said in a firm tone. "I didn't agree to become a host so this—" She paused to motion to her outfit. "—is completely unnecessary and just...ridiculous. Me being a host is not helping anyone."

"It's helping Haruhi."

Izzy stared at Kyoya with a quirked brow, not impressed. "Excuse me?"

"Whenever you're with Haruhi, her customers seem to double. It's doing wonders for her debt."

"...are...are you trying to _blackmail_ me?"

"Take it how you see fit."

"You're not very straightforward when you're threatening someone, are you?"

"It's straightforward enough."

"You're the Devil."

Kyoya, for reasons she couldn't explain, seemed quite amused with her accusation. "This is ridiculous," Izzy sighed heavily and shook her head. "I need to go home," She motioned for Honey and Mori to release her from their grasps. Honey let her go reluctantly but quickly got over it by climbing to sit on Mori's shoulders. "I'll have this dry cleaned and sent back," Izzy said while standing up. "Thank you for helping me out…even though it was more so for your gain…"

"Izzy-senpai, you're so cruel," Tamaki whined to the older brunette.

"Mm," Izzy smirked and leaned towards him, poking at his cheek. "Perhaps you're just too sensitive?" She asked with clear amusement. "Besides, I thought I told you to _ask_ me these things instead of just making rash decisions."

"The last time you tricked me with a line like that, Senpai."

"Well look who's learning."

"She says she's not the big sister type but she acts like one," Hikaru noted as Izzy and Tamaki continued back and forth, unaware of his words.

Izzy ignorantly ignored his words.

* * *

For the rest of the week, Izzy made sure to avoid attending the Host Club. She was reeling from the fact that the girls associated her with the Host Club. The fact that she'd been seen in that damn outfit didn't help at all. It was getting to the point that girls were asking her why she hadn't come to Club since Tuesday. What's more is that Fumiko acted weird all throughout the week. Ayame and Yuna were also acting weird but Izzy wrote them off because she thought the two were kind of weird to begin with.

"Girls," Chihiro sung as she swept into the living room. Izzy was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, doing homework, while Fumiko was curled up in the recliner with a book. It wasn't unusual to find the two together but she was put off that they were practically ignoring one another. That was...out of the ordinary.

"Hi Aunt Chi," Izzy leaned away from her homework, fiddling with her pencil. She was changed out of her uniform, swathed in an oversized hoodie that most likely belonged to one of her brothers. Shinobu would turn her nose down at Izzy's attire. Chihiro could only smile at the thought. "You seem like you're in a good mood."

Chihiro's smile brightened, despite the odd tension in the room. "There will be a fundraiser Saturday night and I would appreciate it if you two would attend."

Fumiko readily accepted Chi's words, already used to these type of things. Besides, that meant she could buy a new dress. Izzy, on the other hand, frowned deeply. "Me?" She pointed her pencil at herself.

"Yes, Izabera, you are a part of this family. You are expected to attend to represent our family," Chihiro said in a firm tone. Whether Izzy wanted a part in heading the company someday, she still had to represent them like Fumiko did.

"I don't have anything to wear."

"Fufu will be glad to take you shopping with her," Chihiro replied smugly. Izzy's shoulders sank, realizing there was no getting out of this. "Try not to look so down, Izabera. You might have fun," Chihiro swept away before Izzy could protest. The brunette dropped her head backwards and groaned at her awful luck. Fumiko quietly glanced over the edge of her book at her cousin, wanting to comfort her but deciding not to.

"Why're you ignoring me, Fumi?" Izzy suddenly asked, leaning backwards against the couch.

"I'm not," Fumiko tried to say in a firm tone like her mother. Izzy wasn't the least bit convinced. She lifted her head up, leveling her cousin with an unimpressed look.

"You're a terrible liar."

" _You're_ the liar!"

Izzy's eyebrows shot up her forehead as she quietly regarded Fumiko. It wasn't like her younger cousin to have an outburst like that. She was usually such a quiet, kind and shy girl. Whatever Izzy had done really rubbed her the wrong way. "You said you weren't friends with them, Izzy! You told me it wasn't worth mentioning because you weren't friends with the Host Club but you've practically joined their Club!"

"I didn't join their club," Izzy stated very calmly.

"Then why were you dressed like them? _Everyone_ is talking about it, Iz! You don't realize how big of a deal this is. Girls aren't supposed to be Hosts."

"Ironic," Izzy muttered more to herself. "That outfit wasn't my idea, Fu, it was Tamaki's idea. I can't help what those morons think or do. I'm just caught in the crossfire. It wasn't my idea, none of it was. If you're going to be upset, be upset with the Host Club," She told her, waving a fleeting hand. Fumiko paled at the very thought of being upset with the Host Club. Girls didn't get upset with the Host Club. That was simply out of the question. Except for Izzy, because she always seemed upset or irritated with them. But she was just weird like that.

"Well, are you friends with them or not?"

Izzy didn't immediately reply, frowning softly. "I don't really know. I doubt it. I think they're paying attention to me because I think their Club is stupid. They're probably just trying to turn me into a swooning idiot."

"Hey!"

Izzy shrugged helplessly. "Anyway," Izzy climbed to her feet. "Why don't we get a headstart on dress shopping? You know how much I hate it."

"Perhaps Hikaru and Kaoru will lend you _another_ dress."

"Shut up, Fu."

* * *

To their surprise, Izzy attended Club Friday afternoon. She heard a chorus of her name before she was nearly swamped by Honey, Hikaru, Kaoru and Tamaki. They crowded her, happy or amused to see her after being avoided for a week. "You guys are making a spectacle," Izzy said quietly through pursed lips. "Not that it's unusual," She added dryly.

"But we haven't seen you since Tuesday!"

"Honey-chan and Mori have."

"That doesn't count, Berry-chan."

"Ah, my mistake."

Fumiko smiled from behind, laughing softly as they fussed over Izzy. Her cousin was oblivious but Fumiko knew a budding friendship when she saw it. For whatever reason, the Host Club was coercing Izzy into a friendship. Izzy was just being rather stubborn about it. Izzy was nearly overwhelmed by their attention but somehow remained level-headed enough to remind them of the other girls. That seemed to do the trick because they quickly left her alone in favor of the other girls.

Izzy followed after Honey, plopping down next to him. She offered a small smile towards Mori, who simply nodded back at her. She turned to look at the girls, smiling more gently when she noticed a new girl sitting among them. She was rather thin with reddish brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. "Hi," Izzy leaned forward towards the girl. "I haven't seen you before. I'm Izzy," She greeted the girl, watching in mild interest when her face flushed deeply. She wasn't sure if that was a good sign or bad but Honey and Mori didn't react to it.

"I'm Machida Isane."

"Well, you seem to be in higher spirits," Ozawa leaned over into Isane, disrupting the greeting. Izzy's smile became tighter at the blonde. "I was beginning to think you would never join us again."

"Oh? Perhaps you've missed my presence? How sweet of you, Ozawa."

"It would seem, for one reason or another, that you've become quite popular," Ozawa hummed primly. Her tone of voice implied she wasn't all that pleased with Izzy's sudden popularity. Izzy wasn't all that thrilled about it either. But she couldn't deny that the girls paid her almost as much attention. It was a bit unnerving, to say the least. She wasn't actually putting on some sort of show for these girls. She was literally being herself. Albeit she was being more polite and less sarcastic but even so, she found it weird. Even Ozawa was in a good mood.

When Hosting hours were over, Tamaki threw himself at Izzy. The action caught her off guard, leaving her trapped in his wiry arms. "Tamaki," She breathed against his chest in a warning tone. "You're suffocating me."

"White lily, you _finally_ decided to join us."

"I was bored."

Tamaki deflated but Izzy held her arms up to keep him from slumping to the floor. "Oh for Heaven's sake," Izzy said despite her grin. "Would you pull yourself together? I'm only teasing."

"So what are you really doing here?" Hikaru and Kaoru approached, reminding Izzy of slithering snakes. She wondered if they practiced their gait or if it came to them naturally.

"I just felt like it," Izzy replied tonelessly. Izzy was, by nature, rather curious. It was one of her downfalls along with her stubbornness. Being stubborn and curious was never a good mixture and often caused her trouble growing up. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. She wondered if her presence was really drawing in more girls like Kyoya stated. She couldn't understand why, especially given the new 'Big Sister' type that was now slapped on her forehead. She was nice to the girls and teased them in good nature, did that automatically make her a big sister? She thought back to her older brothers. Her brothers were nice but they often teased her mercilessly.

This school was so weird.

"It would seem even Honey-senpai and Mori-senpai's guests enjoy your company," Hikaru stated as Tamaki righted himself. He didn't move from Izzy's space and she didn't bat him away like she would have usually done.

"Except for that Ozawa girl. She's out for my blood," Izzy huffed irritability. "I'm going to end up choking that girl," She stated very firmly.

"Violence is highly frowned upon here, Izabera," Kyoya hummed smoothly, not looking up from his notebook. Izzy wondered what the hell was important all the damn time. Perhaps inventory?

"Then I'll do it off school grounds."

"Careful, before you're slapped with the 'Mafia' type next," Hikaru grinned, poking fun at the Italian stereotype.

"That's not funny," Izzy sneered at him, reaching out to pinch his ear. "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Didn't your mother teach you that?" there was a sadistic gleam in her eyes. Haruhi, who'd been cleaning her area, shot Izzy a rather amused smirk. The older brunette felt the smugness rather than seeing it and stopped torturing Hikaru long enough to look over. "What?"

"For someone who vehemently denied it, you sure do act like a big sister."

"I'm going home!"

* * *

"You're dragging this out."

Izzy sat on a expensive chaise in an equally expensive dress boutique hours after school ended. Fumiko shot her a mean glare, fed up with her cousin's nonchalant attitude. "The fundraiser is _tomorrow,_ Iz. We don't have time to find you a dress tomorrow. We need to find one now."

"What was wrong with that black one?"

"It was _plain._ Izzy, you have an eye for fashion but you never use it for yourself. Were you this difficult when Hikaru and Kaoru lent you that bronze dress?"

"Yep," Izzy popped her lips rudely.

Fumiko heaved a heavy sigh. "Come on, this is important to Mama. Do you act like this when your parents take you and your brothers to some event?"

"Sometimes, yes."

"Izzy!"

The brunette let out a laugh but heaved herself up. "Alright, alright. I'll cooperate," She conceded to her cousin, nearing the racks of expensive dresses. She picked through them, frown deepening as she rejected each one. She wasn't being difficult for the fun of it...these dresses were just awful. Back in Italy, she usually left things like this to Aunt Vivi. Viviana would pick three dresses that she liked and Izzy would give her final opinion. Besides, Vivi's dresses were much better than these…

"Oh," She noticed a deep blue dress. It was odd that lately she was drawn to the color blue. It was a nice color but not necessarily her favorite. She favored green and white so her sudden preference for blue was out of the ordinary. "How about this one?" She pulled it up for Fumiko to see.

"Oh, that looks lovely," Fumiko began shoving Izzy towards the changing room. "Go on, try it on," She babbled excitedly as Izzy disappeared behind the curtain. She was back moments later, stepping out to show off to Fumiko. It was a slim fitting dress, fitting over her curves like waves. It was backless like the bronze dress but had halter top neckline instead. A slit in the dress revealed a hint of her cleavage. The deep blue of the dress complimented her hair and made her eyes pop in a more pronounced way.

"It looks wonderful, Izzy. You—" Fumiko came to a hard pause, eyes dropping low. Izzy frowned at her cousin, wondering what on Earth was the matter. "What happened to your wrists, Izabera?" Fumiko asked slowly, eyes hard. Izzy looked down at her wrists, cursing her stupidity. The bright purple bruises had finally begun to fade into an odd yellow but they were still there. They hadn't been bothering her, which is why she forgot to hide them from her nosey cousin.

"Nothing," She said, slipping her arms behind her back.

"I'm not blind! What happened to your wrists?" Fumiko demanded in an almost shrill voice.

"Shut up," Izzy hissed back at her. "I'll tell you but stop shouting," the brunette waved her hands in Fumiko's face, willing her to shut up. "At the Host's Ball….Katsu showed up."

"Our cousin?"

"Oh, who else, Fu? How many Katsus do you know?" Izzy rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we might have started to argue and I think he was going to throw me into the fountain, I don't know. I was tempted to throw him into the fountain first but…" She plainly held up her wrists, displaying the patchy bruises. "But this is his fault."

"What could you have been arguing about?"

Izzy wrinkled her nose as she remembered the argument. "He wants me to go back to Italy. He says I don't belong here in Japan."

Fumiko gaped at the notion, face slightly turning red. "He said what? Why would he say something awful like that?! The nerve!"

Izzy actually grinned at her cousin's behavior. "It's alright, Fu, you don't have to get so upset. It's over and done with. I'm not sure where he got the idea that he can decide who can and can't live in Japan but he was angry enough to do this…"

Fumiko noticed Izzy avoided answering _why_ he felt the need to hurt her. "That's...not like Katsu."

Izzy studied her reflection in the floor length mirror, twisting and turning about. The skirt of the dress followed the movements, fluttering against her tanned legs. "You sure?"

Fumiko watched, somewhat entranced by her cousin's swaying. "Katsu has always been...reserved but he's never acted confrontational before. Every time I see him at events, he's always polite and quiet. I would never expect a bout of violence from Katsu."

Izzy finally stopped her swaying, turning around to look at Fumiko. She wouldn't expect such violence because Katsu didn't see her as a threat. Fumiko was only older than Katsu by a few months. Besides that, she didn't have the personality to run an expensive company. Fumiko was quiet, demure and obedient. She wasn't tough like Izzy and calm and collected like Katsu. She wasn't a _threat,_ not like Izzy _._ She wasn't stubborn nor was she composed and no-nonsense.

"You would be surprised," Izzy commented evenly, turning back to her reflection. "Well, anyway, I'll wear some gloves but we're going with this dress," She said in an attempt to sway Fumiko's attention. She didn't want anyone else to know about this weird situation with Katsu. It was far too easy to distract Fumiko, Izzy mused, as she took the bait and went on a long winded ramble of what Izzy could accessorize with.

Izzy just let her.

* * *

Izzy felt like screaming.

She hated events like this, a bunch of stuck up wealthy people trying to outdo one another. The fundraiser was organized to raise money for one of those tropical islands that got hit with a bad flood. A very noble thing, she would say. However, Izzy wasn't stupid. These people were only attending and donating funds to one-up one another. It was more like a contest of who donated the most. It was rather frustrating but Izzy managed to keep a politely stoic face. It wouldn't do her Aunt any good if she offended business associates by scowling at them.

The associates were delighted to meet her, much to her agitation. They were all interested in meeting Masami's legacy. They wanted to meet the child of a promising businesswoman shamed by running off with an older man with children. She wasn't sure what they expected of her but they seemed pleasantly surprised by her cool disposition.

"Come, Izabera, I would like for you to meet a longtime friend of your grandparents," Chihiro appeared at her side, dressed in a pretty black dress. Izzy only frowned slightly, not sure if she wanted to meet anyone Shinobu considered as a friend. But Chihiro paid her niece no mind, directing her towards an older lady. She was dressed in a expensive looking kimono along with her hair pulled back into an elegant style. Her face was crafted into a sharp but indifferent mask. Izzy wasn't sure if she liked this woman.

"Shizue-san," Chihiro greeted coolly, bowing. "It's wonderful to see you. I would like for you to meet my niece, Izabera."

Shizue turned, eyeing Izzy like she was some of item to be appraised. "Chihiro," Shizue said after a long pause. "It has been quite some time," She offered frigidly. "This is Masami's daughter, isn't it?" She asked with her stony mask in place. Izzy almost huffed irritably, displeased that they were speaking as if she wasn't present. Or, she internally rolled her eyes, like she couldn't understand Japanese.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Shizue-san," Izzy saw an opening and gracefully took it, offering a polite but chilly smile. She mentally cheered when her Italian accent didn't bleed awkwardly into her words for once. Izzy was sure that Shizue didn't think much of her Eurasian background.

Shizue continued to stare at her, accessing her appearance. Her hard stare was finally broken, settling for something over Izzy's shoulder. "Chihiro, you remember my grandson. Izabera, was it?" She quirked an eyebrow and Izzy almost rolled her eyes. "You attend Ouran Academy, do you not?"

Izzy didn't have the chance to answer, a very slight smile pulling at her red stained lips when Tamaki appeared at her side. He seemed a little surprised to see her but clearly happy at the same time. "I do, as a matter of fact. Tamaki has been kind enough to help me settle in these past few weeks," she turned her slightl smile to Tamaki. Izzy wondered how someone like Tamaki could be related to someone like Shizue. He was just so bubbly and Shizu seemed like she could wilt flowers just by glancing at them. Before Shizue could say much else, Izzy quickly excused the both of them, nearly dragging Tamaki off in order to get away from Shizue.

"Your grandmother is lovely."

Tamaki chuckled as he tucked her arm into the crook of his elbow. He seemed almost relieved to see the brunette. "I'm sure she means you no harm, Senpai. You look quite lovely, by the the way."

Izzy only huffed. She already caught several men, old enough to be her grandfather, ogling at the sight of her cleavage. She was already through with this entire event. "Thank you, Tamaki. You look great," She returned the compliment. The two stuck together for the remainder of the night, Tamaki acting as somewhat of a buffer for Izabera.

To her bemusement ( _or amusement, she couldn't decid_ e) Tamaki was able to pick up on her moods with ease. He was able to notice small tics indicating her shortening temper and patience. It was very simple and subtle, Izzy's poker face was hard to crack. Except for the slight twitch of her eyebrow. Whenever her eyebrow would twitch, he would find some reason or another to pull her away from whatever business associate had her cornered.

"It's almost over," Fumiko hummed pleasantly while Tamaki handed them each a flute of what Izzy assumed to be was sparkling cider. She was somewhat disappointed at that, wishing for a flute of her family's famous wine. The drinking age, if she remembered correctly, was different in Japan however.

"That's easy for you to say," She huffed irritability. "You're not being gawked at for being Eurasian like some rare animal."

"It'll pass," Tamaki commented simply. Izzy was quite impressed with Fumiko and Tamaki. For once, they weren't acting like morons like when they were at school. She supposed the environment was to blame. She was almost surprised by the mature personality both Fumiko and Tamaki seemed to possess. A small part of her wondered if the rest of the Host Club knew how to act at events like this as well.

"I'll be right back," Fumiko stood with a sigh. "Mama is beckoning. She probably wants me to meet someone's grandson again," Fumiko made a face before wiping it clean, approaching her mother. Izzy watched her go, snickering in delight that Fumiko was right. A young man stood with Chi, smiling cordially as Fumiko neared them.

Once her snickering died down, she glanced at Tamaki with a thoughtful frown. "Were you guys serious about me hosting?" She asked, seemingly out of nowhere. She hated to admit it but she'd been seriously pondering their words since Tuesday. She was sure that they weren't entirely serious and were only trying to get on her nerves. But a very small, nearly nonexistent part of her just knew they were being serious.

Izzy completely missed Tamaki's smile, which was an impressive feat since it was nearly blinding. "Quite," He answered simply, dialing down the intensity of his smile when she finally turned to look at him. "Ouran Academy encourages all students to join a club, you know," He added casually, hoping to reel her in subtly.

"The Host Club is an all male club," Izzy argued, although her tone lacked its' usual viciousness.

"It doesn't state that."

"Then why haven't other girls joined?"

"Because they _want_ to be hosted."

Izzy didn't have an immediate reply and felt a smile tugging at her lips. She tried in vain to bat it away and quickly dropped her head. It was all for naught, since Tamaki witnessed the entire struggle. He smiled down at her but waited it out, just knowing her will was wilting. Her shoulders dropped almost dramatically. "Alright, fine," She finally conceded. "But only because it supposedly helps Haruhi. Lord knows you guys are just being sadistic with that outrageous debt," Izzy amended quickly, slightly blushing.

"Wonderful, Senpai," Tamaki smiled, ignoring her jab.

Izzy was almost positive she would later come to regret her decision.

* * *

TeeBeMe: Tamaki and Izzy are best friends and y'all can't tell me otherwise.

 _Capo -_ Boss


	9. It looks like you might be one of us

"Where do you find time to even take these pictures?"

Two weeks into joining the Host Club and Izzy was nearly dismayed to admit that she was actually popular among the girls. Many years from now, when she's older, she'll deny actually enjoying her time hosting. But there was no denying how much of an impact she made. She agreed to only host three days out of the week but even on the days when she wasn't needed, she still found herself attending Club. When she hosted, she was paired with Haruhi but when she was a guest, she usually found herself with Mori and Honey.

"Renge," Kyoya answered easily as Izzy peered into his laptop screen. She'd been completely unaware, but not surprised, that the Host Club had their own website. Fumiko mentioned it in passing and Izzy was completely horrified to see her pictures posted to the website.

"Right, of course," Izzy murmured, eyes flickering. "I don't recall consenting to having my pictures all over this website. Isn't that some sort of violation?" she mused, knowing Kyoya would have some sort of snarky answer for her.

"You consented when you joined," he answered with his usual air of superiority. Izzy only rolled her eyes but continued to study the smaller section dedicated to her. It really unnerved her that Kyoya and Renge could easily get their hands on just about anyone's records.

"I find this disturbing but not surprising," Izzy mused in good nature. "Is it absolutely necessary to know my height _and_ weight? That seems a bit excessive."

"You only say that because you don't want anyone to know your weight," Hikaru grinned impishly at her. Izzy turned to him, frowning irritably.

"It's useless information," she rolled her eyes and stood up, dusting her skirt of any imaginary dust and crumbs that could have gathered. "Well, that's enough insanity for the day, yes?" she asked, although they had the impression that she wasn't really asking for permission to leave first. "See you later," Izzy quickly took her leave before she could be stopped, knowing the group would find one way or another to involve her in their after school shenanigans. It was already enough that she was officially a member of the Host Club. She paused at the grand staircase, frowning and rolling the thoughts over in her head.

Izabera, the Big Sister type. This is not what her parents sent her to Japan for, she laughed softly. She hadn't even made time to visit with her grandparents for quite awhile, now that she thought about it. Maybe she should—

"Oh, good. You haven't left yet," Haruhi offered a polite smile as she hurried to catch up to the taller brunette. Izzy half turned to face the younger girl, smiling all the while. The two had grown close, having spent a lot of time together now that Izzy joined. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes?" she prompted, starting down the staircase. Haruhi followed behind her.

"There's a new bookstore that opened in my neighborhood. I know you're used to more lavish stores but I thought you might like it," Haruhi said in that endearing but straight-forward way of hers. One thing the girls really seemed to adore about Izzy was her bookish ways. They called it charming but Izzy wasn't stupid enough to believe that. Girls who were 'bookish' had no time for boys, meaning the Host Club members were safe from her.

Which Izzy found stupid because if she was supposedly the big sister type, wouldn't the Host Club members be considered her brothers?

Anyway…

"That sounds nice," Izzy replied pleasantly. "When?"

"Sunday afternoon?"

"Sure," Izzy nodded, cementing the plans. She actually liked the idea of spending time with Haruhi outside of school. She stopped at the doors, knowing her car was waiting outside for her. She constantly offered Haruhi a ride home but she always politely refused. "I'm assuming the others don't know," she asked with a hand on her hip. Haruhi shot her a sardonic look, causing Izzy laugh. It was a genuine laugh, for once, full of mirth and amusement. "Stupid question," she said in between chuckles. "Sunday afternoon sounds great. Your address, please?" she prompted at the front doors, peeking out to see one of Morimoto's luxury cars waiting for her. Haruhi handed over a scrap of paper with her address printed clearly. Izzy mused at her perfect handwriting, taking the offered scrap. "This will be fun, I look forward to it."

"Try not to be too flashy," were Haruhi's parting words, causing Izzy to flush. She didn't think she was flashy but maybe Haruhi saw her differently? Determined, Izzy set off for the car.

* * *

Izzy found herself picking through her closet Sunday morning. "Flashy, she says. Do I dress flashy?" she mumbled to herself while tapping her cheek. "I don't think I do…" The brunette frowned, she always thought she had a more laid-back style compared to her friends and peers. She was kept up to date on the latest fashion thanks to Vivi but she never came off as trying too hard. Izzy let out a long hum, doing a full circle to study her clothes. "I'm overthinking this," she decided after a long moment. "It's not like this is a date or anything," Izzy rolled her eyes at her behaviour. She did another sweep of the walk-in closet, muttering to herself all the while. She finally decided on a pair of ripped jeans and a _Ca' Foscari U_ sweatshirt that she swiped from one of her brothers. It was gray and slouched off of her shoulder in a fashionable yet tasteful way.

"That took longer than necessary," Izzy muttered while coming out of her closet. She brushed her hair, taming the curls somewhat before giving up. Izzy hurried from her room, calling her for Aimi as she did. She requested the family's driver to take her to Haruhi's house, remembering to ask to be driven in an older model of their cars. The car ride was a long one, causing her to sigh gratefully when they finally arrived. She climbed out the backseat, thanking the driver when he swung the door open. "I'll call when I'm ready to go home, Andou-san, thank you."

She watched as Andou drove off, nearly jumping when a voice interrupted. "Well, I guess that's not as flashy as I thought it would be."

Izzy whipped around, glaring at Haruhi. She was dressed in her usual fashion, a light blue dress over a pair of jeans. "I'm not flashy," Izzy insisted, approaching the younger girl. "You know, with the way everyone talks about you being a commoner, I expected you to live in a shack," Izzy laughed, motioning to the building that she assumed was Haruhi's apartment.

"Compared to the house you live in, it probably is a shack," Haruhi shrugged indifferently.

Izzy snorted and folded her arms across her chest. Honestly, she could probably fit the apartment complex in Chi's house. She didn't mention that to Haruhi, keeping the thought to herself. "From the outside it looks nice."

Haruhi didn't reply, opting to set off down the street. Izzy easily followed, her longer strides making it easy to follow. "The bookstore isn't far," Haruhi said, glancing at Izzy. "You're probably used to being driven around."

Izzy folded her arms behind her back but shrugged a shoulder. "Walking doesn't bother me. We don't use cars in Central Venice."

"No?"

"We don't have streets in the heart of Venice. We just get around by walking or using _vaporetto_ —water buses. Ironic since my family is an automobile company," Izzy explained, sticking close to Haruhi. The busy hustle and bustle of Tokyo reminded her a lot of Venice and that put her in a good mood. They spent their walk with Haruhi asking questions about her family and Italy. "—my Papa is grooming Franky to eventually inherit the company and Alonzo is in school for law. It's fitting because he never shuts up and likes to argue you down. Vinny is going for Accounting and Financing," Izzy explained almost animatedly, using her hands to aid her in her storytelling. Talking about her older brothers always put her in a good mood.

"What about you?" Haruhi asked as they turned down the street. She could see the new bookstore coming up.

"Oh, I'm not sure. I'm sure they'll send me somewhere to get a business degree or something similar along those lines."

Haruhi frowned at Izzy's blasé attitude. "Is that what you want?" she asked after a long pause. Izzy gave her a funny look, head tilting to the side. It's almost like she didn't fully understand Haruhi's question. "What would you like to study? What interests you?"

She half expected some rehearsed line from Izzy about the family business and having some small part in it. "Well...I've always liked architecture…" the older brunette confessed almost sheepishly. "Venice is a city of Old and the architecture has always fascinated me. Even coming to Japan and seeing the buildings here are fascinating," Izzy explained, eyes darting around the cluster of buildings.

Haruhi was positive that this plain shopping district wasn't as interesting as the more grand buildings that Izzy was actually used to but she didn't say anything. Izzy's face was light up like a Christmas tree as she looked around, looking like a tourist. "But I'm not sure how Papa would feel about me doing that," Izzy's bright expression dropped into something more somber. "And now there's all this talk about me inheriting _Morimoto Automobiles_ ," Izzy rolled her eyes at the thought of it. "So I'm not sure what the future holds for me next year."

Haruhi didn't press for more information despite her slight curiosity. It was plainly obvious that Izzy wasn't fond of the idea at all. Most of the kids at Ouran seemed aware and fine with the idea of being groomed for taking over their family's business when the time called for it. Izzy seemed exempt from that. The girls finally come a brightly painted building, ' _The Book Bar'_ in big quirky letters slapped onto the storefront. Once again, Izzy's face light up. Haruhi only glanced at her, waiting for the teenager to bounce in place.

She never did but Haruhi wouldn't tell anyone if she did bounce in place.

Izzy smiled widely once the stepped inside, the smell of ink and parchment setting her at ease. The inside of the building was a lot bigger than she expected and there were books everywhere. On the second floor is where the bar was situated, the smell of fresh coffee mingling in with the books. "I like it," Izzy declared firmly, smiling all the while. "Books and coffee. What's not to like?" she asked, eyes searching the place. She clapped her hands together, knowing she'd spend an impressive sum of her parents' money today on books.

Izzy's smiles were genuine, unlike the glass smiles she wore during school hours. These smiles were bright, reaching up to her eyes and turning the hazel into liquid gold. They weren't carefully painted to her lips like a fine China Doll. Here, in this little second-rate bookstore, she wasn't Isabella Giovanni, last child and only daughter to _Giovanni Industry_. She wasn't even Giovanni Izabera, oldest and unwilling heiress to _Morimoto Automobiles_.

She was just Bera. Or Izzy, whichever nickname was preferred at the moment. Just a seventeen year old girl who loved books and coffee. Just a girl dressed in a raggedy old sweatshirt and jeans, determined to find good books to read.

Haruhi watched the tall brunette move around the shop, perfectly manicured nails dragging across the spine of books, hands sliding languidly against the railing. She watched as the barista fumbled under Izzy's charming smile to make her drink. She watched as the brunette curled up on one of the comfortable armchairs, armed with a book and a mug of coffee, and lost herself within whatever story stole her interest.

She watched Izzy a lot that afternoon, seeing the real her for the first time. This Izzy talked to herself, to her books and made faces all the while. This Izzy loved coffee, so much that she drank it like water. This Izzy didn't bother with sitting properly, she shifted around constantly to fold her legs up under her or to throw them over the arm of the chair. If Haruhi hadn't met Izzy at Ouran beforehand, she would have sworn that Izzy was just a regular, middle-classed, teenaged girl. But even so, there was something distinctively wealthy about Izzy. Izabera and Isabella, either one, hovered over her shoulders. It was like Izzy just couldn't shake it. Not that Haruhi really expected her to shed her persona completely. It was just nice to peel back Izabera's layers to see Izzy.

Two hours later was when they found themselves finally leaving the bookstore. Izzy was armed with a heavy looking parcel of her purchases and was a bit jittery from all the coffee she ended up consuming. Haruhi's parcel was noticeably smaller and she wasn't bouncing in place, having only one cup of coffee.

They were halfway back to Haruhi's house when a cold feeling settled over Izzy's neck. She paused in the middle of her very animated retelling of a fight between her three brothers as the feeling nearly overwhelmed her. Her eyes began darting around the neighborhood, feeling like someone was watching her. "Senpai? Are you alright?" Haruhi asked once she noticed Izzy looking around. With all the coffee she consumed during their outing, she figured maybe it wasn't sitting right with Izzy. The taller brunette didn't answer immediately, too focused on finding out what had her so uneasy.

"It's just…" Izzy trailed off, doing a full circle. "I felt like someone was watching us or something," she took one last look around her before shrugging. "I'm probably just being paranoid or something," she decided after not finding anyone behaving suspiciously. "Come on, let's go."

The feeling of being watched slowly left Izzy the closer they got to Haruhi's apartment complex. She had to put her odd feeling on the back burner because incidentally, the Host Club stood outside of Haruhi's building. Izzy wasn't all that shocked to see them, watching them with a quirked brow with a hand on her hip. "Did you tell them about today?" Izzy inquired, watching in amusement as Tamaki and the twins bickered over Haruhi's possible whereabouts.

Haruhi let out a heavy sigh. "No, but they do tend to just show up regularly and unannounced," Haruhi replied blankly.

"That's...not surprising at all," Izzy replied after a moment's pause. "Perhaps I should go then? I would hate to intrude," the taller brunette pointed into the opposite direction, perfectly fine with waiting on a bench or something for Andou to come for her.

The shorter of the two shot her a poisonous look. "Don't be ridiculous. I invited you first and you only want to leave so that you don't have to deal with them," she pointed out blankly. Izzy's polite smile shattered instantly, replaced with a sheepish expression.

Before Izzy could say much to Haruhi's statement, Mori turned and spotted them. "Oh, we've been spotted," Izzy hummed wryly, raising her hand to wave at him. She was a little surprised when he raised his hand to wave back. "How long until everyone else notices?" she mused coyly, still waving. Evidently, not long because Honey glanced into their direction. Delighted to see both Izzy and Haruhi together and outside of school, he jumped from Mori's shoulders to dash over to the two of them. It caused the others to look towards them, exclamations of delight following suit once they spotted the two girls.

Izzy took a careful step back as Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru crowded Haruhi, each asking about her past whereabouts. She was tempted to sneak off while they were so distracted but something stopped her. That _something_ being Honey grabbing onto the hem of her shirt. "We weren't expecting you today, Berry-chan," he directed one of those sugary-sweet smiles her way.

"Interesting, I can't say the same," Izzy mused, allowing Honey to scale the side of her body. His weight, along with the weight of her heavy bag of books unbalanced her, causing her to shift him awkwardly. Mori helped her out, plucking her heavy bag a little too easily out of her hands. Izzy tilted her head back, smiling gratefully at him. He blinked down at her, seemingly coming to some sort of realization under her smile.

Odd.

Hikaru broke off from Haruhi, turning to Izzy with a judgmental look to his eye. "Senpai, you're dressed…. _down_ ," he said, looking at her from head to toe. Izzy was nearly positive that Honey purposely jumped into her arms to stop her from attacking them when they ticked her off. She was sure they discussed ways to keep her from hurting them given how much they tended to antagonize her.

"And your hair is obnoxious but you don't see me giving you the stink eye," she shot back acidically, smirking at the mean look Hikaru sent her way. "And hasn't anyone ever taught you guys that it's rude to show up to someone's home unannounced? Not very princely, is it?" she asked, nearly laughing when Tamaki gave her a look of utter distraught.

"At least try not to rile him up already," Kyoya intoned blankly, not in much of a mood for more of Tamaki's moping.

"But it's so easy," Izzy chuckled, watching as Kaoru grabbed Haruhi's bag. It wasn't to be polite and relieve her of carrying it, it was so he could rifle through it. Izzy thought it was a little rude but Haruhi didn't put up a fight nor did she protest.

"Books? Is that all you girls do is read?" he asked with an upturn of his nose. Izzy and Haruhi both looked at one another, Haruhi rolling her eyes while Izzy simply laughed.

"Well, it does this funny thing where it stimulates the mind," Izzy replied with an impish expression, reaching over to tap at Kaoru's temple. "Useless, I know, but some of us still appreciates this lost art," Izzy mused with a soft grin. She pulled her hand back when Kaoru swiped at her, settling it under Honey to fully support his weight.

"While this is all very tender, perhaps we should move this meeting indoors?" Kyoya spoke up before Kaoru could fire back some snide comment. "We're beginning to attract attention," he informed them, motioning to the people milling around and openly staring at them.

" _Beginning_?" Izzy asked with a snide tilt to her voice. Izzy was going to point out that no matter where the group went or what they did, they always attracted attention. It was beginning to weigh on her because she was never one for attention despite coming from a large and boisterous family. Haruhi snorted but trekked on towards her apartment, the gaggle of boys plus Izzy following behind. The older brunette was a bit uncomfortable, feeling almost like she was intruding even though Haruhi made it clear that that wasn't the case. But still, Haruhi made it perfectly clear that she was to not sneak off, so along Izzy went, still cradling Honey in her arms.

Haruhi's home was small and simple but very homey. Izzy let Honey down and slipped out of her shoes, following Haruhi into the kitchen. She noticed her parents weren't around but chose not to comment, knowing it was none of her business. She helped the younger girl bring the tea into the living room, settling down in between Kyoya and Mori. Izzy didn't bother paying much attention to the conversations that took place at the table. Unless they spoke directly to her or in the twins' case— _picked with her_ —she mostly stayed quiet. She was satisfied with observing the group outside of school, having shed their Host Club personas.

Not much happened until Izzy insisted on washing the dishes. Haruhi protested the notion but Izzy waved her off, reminding her that someone needed to keep an eye on the Host Club anyway. She purposely ignored one of the twins making a remark about how her hands would wrinkle and hid away in the kitchen. She made sure her ponytail was secured tightly, readying herself to clean the few dishes that accumulated thanks to them when she heard shuffling behind her. The brunette glanced over her shoulder, ready to shoo Haruhi away only to pause with raised eyebrows. "Oh, Mori, I wasn't expecting you," she blinked, tilting her head back at an awkward angle.

"Let me see your hand, Izabera-chan," Mori lifted his hand up, palm facing upward. Izzy continued to blink at him, slowly turning towards him with a thoughtful look. She leaned the back of her waist against the sink, tilting her head to the side.

" _Bera_ ," she enunciated slowly, frowning all the while. She wasn't sure why but everyone used her nickname but Mori and it bothered her. "Everyone calls me just Bera at this point. I'll give you my hand if you call me Bera," she bartered, forgetting that once upon a time, Mori made her rather nervous. Him calling her by her full name while everyone else used nicknames seemed a little too intimate to her. It was like if she called him by his full name when it was rarely used by anyone except Honey.

More stared down at her, face betraying nothing. But Izzy held fast, her infamous stubborn nature coming into play. A grin overtook her mouth when Mori finally consented, nodding along to her demands. "Let me see your hand, Bera," he easily went along with her demand. Izzy nearly shivered at the deep baritone of his voice but batted the feeling away, holding up her hand in confusion. Mori reached forward, engulfing her much smaller hand in his own. She marveled at the difference in size, noting that his hands were rough from what she assumed was because of kendo.

Before she could even ask him what this was about, Mori tightened his grip on her hand and jerked the sleeve of her sweatshirt up to her elbow with his free hand. Izzy's jaw unhitched, hanging open with a slight 'pop'. She didn't know why she was so surprised by his boldness, he'd done the same thing before. The bruises that once littered her skin had mostly faded thanks to Izzy obsessively icing her wrists down every afternoon. Just like she assumed, Chihiro began to take notice of Izzy constantly wearing long-sleeves around the house. Now they were mostly gone, just leaving behind discolored silhouettes. If someone didn't know to look specifically for them, they wouldn't be noticed.

Or if you were Mori and just took it upon yourself to just snatch sleeves down. She understood that he was the 'Wild' Host and tended to act on impulse but this was just ridiculous. What was worse was that she knew it was no point in trying to tug away. He wasn't hurting her but his grip was on her hand was firm.

"Um," she blinked up at him. "May I have my hand back?"

Mori released his grip on her hand only to snatch the other one up, repeating the process of studying the faded bruises. Deciding to just let him have his way, Izzy patiently waited for him to finish his assessment. When he was done, he gently dropped her hand back to her side. She folded her arms across her chest, wary that he would snatch her hand up again. "Satisfied?" she asked with a lone brow quirked. Mori stared down at her, studying her features a little too hard for her liking. She wanted to take a nervous step back but she was already pressed into the sink. She cleared her throat, hoping he would stop grilling her so hard. "You could have just _asked_ ," she reminded him, fidgeting under his gaze.

"You would have said no."

Izzy flushed hard, frowning indignantly. "How can you be so sure?"

Mori shrugged casually, "because you always say no."

If it was possible, Izzy's face would have darkened even more. She frowned and looked away, having no proper comeback for that one. "I guess you have an answer for everything as well," she said with a slight huff. "Well, you see that it's fine now, now off you go. You'll attract someone's attention and somehow washing dishes will turn into some odd misadventure about the less fortunate," Izzy made a shooing motion, suddenly quite aware of just the two of them being left alone in the kitchen.

Instead of heeding her orders, Mori lifted a large hand, casually setting it on the crown of her head. Izzy only blinked, speechless once more as Mori ruffled her hair in the same affectionate way he ruffled Haruhi or Honey's hair. The motion caught her completely off guard, words clogging her throat. Mori didn't seem to take notice, carelessly jostling her perfectly styled ponytail out of place before stalking out of the kitchen. Izzy watched him go, reaching up to slowly fix her hair as best as she could. Perturbed and still rendered speechless, she turned back towards the sink. The brunette rolled her sleeves up to her elbows and focused on washing the dishes for Haruhi. It didn't take long and she found herself returning to the Hosts sooner rather than later. It seemed like they were planning something, not paying her any mind when she sat back down with them.

"What's going on?" she asked after a long moment of quietly observing them. Tamaki turned towards her first, beaming in that way only he could. It didn't annoy her, only amusing her. Her amusement showed by the easy smile that graced her lips.

"The Host Club will be taking a trip on Saturday after classes," he told her with an excited tilt to his voice. Izzy raised her eyebrows at the notion, silently asking where. She wasn't even going to try to talk her way out of attending. She was, after all, an official member of the Host Club. Sometimes she wondered how that even came to be. "We're going to an indoor water park!" he revealed, nearly bouncing in excitement. Izzy let out a long breath, masking it as an interested hum. An indoor waterpark meant she'd have to wear a swimsuit. It wasn't like she was self-conscious of herself but it probably wouldn't bode too well with the girls, even if she was a part of the Host Club. She was much too tall and full-figured.

"I bet you don't have a swimsuit," Hikaru leaned forward in Izzy's direction.

"You're right, for once," Izzy snorted while rolling her eyes. "Why would I bring a swimsuit over from Italy?"

"Because you have to be prepared for anything," Kaoru helpfully supplied an answer. Izzy only shrugged helplessly, having no real reply. "We'll just have to get you a swimsuit."

"I'm perfectly capable of buying my own swimsuit, thank you."

"But you'll just but something boring, Senpai," Hikaru whined childishly, cringing at the thought of Izzy picking out her own swimsuit. It wasn't that Izzy didn't have style— _she_ _did_ —but Izzy seemed just fine with wasting it on boring, unassuming clothes. She was tall with modelesque features but was perfectly fine with swamping herself in oversized sweatshirts and sweaters all the time. It was a tragedy, really.

"I'm not there to impress anyone," she reminded them with nearly a pout.

"But you are," Kyoya decided to step in. "You're a Host, remember? You actually are there to impress the customers."

"Has anyone ever told you that you take this way too seriously?" Izzy deadpanned. Kyoya didn't bother with a reply, turning back to his planning. "Would it make you feel better if I went with Fumiko to buy a swimsuit?" she turned back to the twins, frowning all the while. They shared a thoughtful look, recalling Izzy's bubbly, younger cousin. She seemed to have a certain knack for wearing Izzy down until she conceded to her demands. That was, after all, how the stubborn brunette attended Club in the first place.

They could trust Fumiko.

The twins conceded with a short, "fine."

The rest of their afternoon was spent planning their trip to the indoor water park. Apparently they were taking extreme measures to make sure whatever happened last time didn't happen. Izzy didn't know what that meant but she hoped it wouldn't happen again. It sounded like a whole lot of trouble she didn't have time for.

Eventually the day began winding down and the Club found themselves gearing up to leave. As they waited for their impending rides home, a stray thought hit Izzy squarely in the face. She glanced over at Mori, a thoughtful look in her lightly toned eyes. They were both leaning against the railing in front of Haruhi's apartment, neither one bothered by the silence as they waited. "Oh," she murmured as the thought festered. She leaned over into him, nudging him with her elbow. He was leaning his back against the railing facing Haruhi's apartment while Izzy was bent at the waist against the railing, facing the street. "You were checking on my wrists because of this trip to the water park," she stated rather than asked, feeling somewhat guilty.

"Yeah," he confirmed her thoughts with a heavy grunt.

"You could have just said that in the first place," Izzy pointed out with raised eyebrows. "Instead of all that manhandling," the brunette stated, waving a fleeting hand in a dismissive manner.

"You would have protested more if you already knew about the trip."

"You really do have answer for everything, don't you?" Izzy grumbled, somewhat impressed. "What would you have done if the bruises were still there?" she asked curiously, leaning her chin against her fist. She noted, vaguely, that Honey was nowhere to be found for once. Maybe Haruhi was giving him some sweets or something but it was odd to see Mori without the pint-sized host.

Mori didn't seem at all bothered by her question. "We would have come up with something," he stated casually, not thinking too hard. For reasons unknown to Izzy, she found herself smiling at him. Perhaps it had something to do with her being included, a snide voice whispered from the depths of her mind. She mentally waved the whispers away, paying no mind to it.

"You certainly have the right answers for someone who's supposedly quiet all the time. Interesting," she mused just as a Morimoto town car came to a slow stop in front of Haruhi's building. Andou got out, waving at Izzy. "Ah, time for me to go. I'll see you in class tomorrow, yes?"

Mori nodded, sending her off with a wave goodbye. Izzy sent one last smile his way before slipping into the car, quietly thanking Andou.

* * *

"Oh, what about this one?"

Fumiko was a bit too excited when Izzy mentioned shopping for a swimsuit. Izzy was positive that Fumiko already had one but she would never turn down the opportunity to go shopping. So again, she found herself sitting in some expensive boutique on an equally expensive chaise watching as Fumiko picked through the racks of swimsuits. Her cousin was having way too much fun with this trip.

The brunette eyed the strapless swimsuit, frowning softly. "Uh, Fu, I need something with straps. The water is going to weigh it down," Izzy said carefully, gaze momentarily dropping to her chest.

"O-Oh," Fumiko's face flushed hard. Her eyes also dropped to Izzy's chest, laughing nervously as she did so. "You're a bit more blessed than the rest of us, huh?" she twittered with a dark face. "That's the Italian blood," she commented while looking back towards the white swimsuit. It really was cute, with ruffles around the bustline. Izzy only smiled in dry amusement at her, chuckling as she did so.

"Okay, so let's get something with straps, yeah?" Izzy pushed herself off the chaise and approached her cousin, idly picking through the swimsuits. Most of the swimsuits were strapless or not her color or weren't her style. Fumiko obediently followed after her, offering compliments or complaints depending on Izzy's assessment.

Izzy was busily scowling at what Fumiko assumed was a bikini but just seemed like thin fabric and some strings stitched together, when she spoke up again. "It's kind of hard to believe that you really joined the Host Club. You thought it was ridiculous—"

"—It _is_ ridiculous—"

Fumiko kept going, deaf to Izzy's input. "And now look at you. An actual member with your own type. The Big Sister type, it's actually pretty fitting of you. You have a lot of big sisterly qualities, even though you don't have any younger siblings," Fumiko rambled thoughtlessly. Izzy let her, smiling baselessly as she did so. "I mean, you've always been like a big sister to _me_ ," Fumiko admitted, finding a polka-dotted one piece extremely interesting. Izzy watched her quietly, her baseless smile curving into a softer, genuine one. "It's nice to see you taking on that role for the Host Club. I think they need someone like you. I mean, they have Haruhi-kun but he's younger than them so they really just baby him."

"Haruhi tries his best," Izzy said carefully, snorting as she did so. "They're a handful."

"You seem to handle them just fine."

"It's really just Tamaki and the twins. Kyoya has his face stuck in his laptop—doing God only knows and Haruhi is pretty normal. Honey can be controlled with some sweets and Mori usually behaves when no one is scheming," Izzy instructed mindlessly, batting Fumiko's hand away from the polka-dotted one piece. "They're good boys when Tamaki and the twins aren't coming up with some sort of ridiculous plot."

Fumiko nodded along to her words, smiling as she did so. "You're a good big sister," she decided after a minute. Her voice suddenly dropped to a soft whisper, somewhat nervous about Izzy's reaction to her next words. "I think they need you."

Izzy flushed at the words, turning away sharply from her cousin. "I like old-fashioned swimsuits," she said after a silent pause, trying to change the conversation. The Host Club did not need her. They were getting along just fine before she came and they'd continue on long after she left. She was just something different, something to pass the time with her startling temper and distressed reactions to what they deemed as normal. She was entertaining and they could exploit her while she entertained them.

"Like the retro ones from the 1950s? Oh, Izzy those would look great on you. Maybe Kaoru and Hikaru can even curl your hair like they used to do!"

"Slow down, Fu. It's just a trip to a water park, not a photoshoot. I'm not _Sophia Loren_ ," Izzy reminded her, patting her cousin on the shoulder.

"But the Host Club always use opportunities like this to take photos. They sell them."

Izzy turned back to Fumiko, silently staring at her for a full-second with a blank face. "Please tell me you're joking," she insisted after a full minute. When Fumiko sheepishly shook her head, Izzy slapped her forehead. "Why, God? Just...why?"

"Because they're all freakishly good looking."

"What have I wandered into..?" Izzy groaned loudly before stalking away to another rack of swimsuits. "That means they'll probably try to slap makeup on me. Makeup. At a waterpark."

"If it makes you feel better, they'll probably take most of your pictures with Haruhi-kun."

"That...doesn't make me feel better at all. The girls probably won't even want pictures of me so it should be fine, right?"

"I think they'll want your pictures too. I don't think the girls are attracted to you— _well maybe some of them are_ —but they do idolize you."

"Have I mentioned that these girls are a bunch of psychopaths?" Izzy asked in exasperation, coming across a retro swimsuit. They were designed to resemble an American's sailor's uniform with the top being white and the bottoms sat high on her waist and were a pretty blue. To her satisfaction, the swimsuit had thick straps that would tie securely around the neck.

"Oh, I like that one," Fumiko peered around Izzy to look at the swimsuit. "It would look great on you. Although...blue is more of Mori-senpai's color."

Izzy tugged at the material, testing the strength of the fabric. "Mori's color? Does that even matter?"

"Of course it does. Each Host has a rose and a color that signifies them. Mori-senpai's rose is blue and that signifies loyalty in Japanese culture. Honey-senpai's color is pink for joy and trustworthiness," Fumiko explained with a bright smile.

"Huh...you've got that…memorized?" Izzy asked slowly, glancing at her cousin. She was a bit disturbed but she wasn't surprised at this point.

"That's besides the point."

"Right..they didn't tell me if I had a color or not and I didn't think to ask."

"Don't be silly, of course you have a color," Fumiko rushed off to her bag. She rifled through it, smiling when she pulled out a pale blue notebook with 'Ouran Highschool Host Club' printed on the front in big yellow letters. "This is the character bio!" Fumiko said simply, returning to Izzy's side. The taller brunette eyed her warily, frowning as she did so. As stated before, she wasn't surprised but the lengths that the Host Club went to to achieve their fame was ridiculous. Although she wasn't sure who was worse, the Host Club for going to such lengths or the girls eating all of it up.

"You...you just carry that around with you?"

"Not usually," Fumiko replied almost defensively. "They had to update it because you joined so I had to buy this one. You can't be caught with the outdated bios," she explained, flipping through the pages. Izzy only shook her head, truly confused. "Oh, here we go!" she chimed in while closing in on Izzy to show her the bio. Izzy peered down at the pages, frowning all the while. A big picture of her smiling politely was slapped on the left side, which confused her because she didn't even remember taking that picture in the first place. On the right side was a description of her personality, her type and a list of her talents.

"Your rose is green," Fumiko pointed out with a smile. "Green symbolizes a couple of things, actually. It can mean stability, balance and peace," Fumiko explained while pointing to the green rose. "That's pretty accurate, don't you think?"

"Well..I suppose," Izzy agreed hesitantly. "So does this mean I have to find a green swimsuit?" she asked after a long moment, frowning. She really liked the one in her hands.

"No, of course not," Fumiko giggled, patting Izzy on the shoulder. "You can wear whatever color you want. Green is just what you're associated with."

"That's….interesting."

"Isn't it?" Fumiko chirped, slapping the book closed. "You and Mori-senpai have a lot in common. Maybe you two could be a package."

"What kind of package would that be?"

Fumiko shrugged carelessly. "The Big Siblings package!"

"Uh...no."

* * *

Saturday was suddenly upon them quicker than Izzy imagined possible. She figured it was because it was all the girls could talk about for the entire week. She doubted most of the girls would even get in the water, lest they wanted to ruin their manicure, but it wasn't any of her business so she remained quiet. Kaoru and Hikaru approved of her swimsuit. Apparently the high waist bottoms made her legs appear even longer and her waist slimmer. She decided not to tell them that she only bought it because she liked the style. She hadn't been concerned with how she would actually look in it.

"Isn't it so nice? The entire park is closed down for us," Fumiko gushed excitably, shouldering her tote bag. Izzy looked at her, eyelids set low and eyebrows high on her forehead.

"It's amazing what waving some money around can do for a person, isn't it?" Izzy asked rhetorically, fixing her sunglasses to sit on top of her head. "That's a nice swimsuit, by the way. You usually don't go for purple but it suits you," Izzy complimented her cousin, noticing her blush immediately.

"Yeah..I wanted to try something new," Fumiko stated, hands on her hips. "You really like it?" she spun around, modeling the purple one piece. Izzy smiled at her cousin and nodded in confirmation.

"Hey, Bera-senpai!" Hikaru waved for her attention. Ever since she insisted on Mori using the nickname 'Bera', the entire Club seemed to have deemed it appropriate for them to drop 'Izzy' in favor of 'Bera'. It didn't necessarily bother her but for some odd reason, ' _Bera_ ' felt like a completely different persona than ' _Izzy_ '. Bera was the big sister type. Izzy was the closed-off girl from Italy who didn't have time for such frivolous things.

Apparently, this 'Bera' girl did.

"Stop shouting," Izzy chided after waving to her cousin. "I'm not deaf, you know. And it's not very princely to shout at a woman," she pointed out as she closed in on the group.

"Good thing we're not the princely type," Kaoru replied cheekily, motioning to Tamaki.

"Fine, it's not very charming," Izzy rolled her eyes. "Don't be so difficult, it's not very cute."

"Oh~?" Hikaru grinned at her.

"You think we're cute?" Kaoru mirrored his grin.

Izzy was not impressed, hand resting on the slope of her hip. "Only when you're being quiet," she replied, effortlessly keeping up with their banter. "Which, unfortunately, isn't often," Izzy shrugged innocently, smiling all the while. Kyoya called her attention away from the twins to remind her of her schedule. She was to spend most of her time with Haruhi for the day. She had a short break to do as she pleased and then she would spend time with Mori and Honey, which surprised her since she mostly hosted with Haruhi.

To prevent Haruhi from getting into the water and revealing her secret, Izzy and Haruhi volunteered to host the girls who couldn't swim or had a fear of swimming. She had no idea why these girls would bother coming to a waterpark if they weren't even going to get into the water but she decided to keep her snooty comments to herself. She was, after all, hosting and no snooty comments were to be made while doing so. All of her sour comments would have to wait until she was alone with the Host Club.

"Senpai, I don't think I can do it."

A half hour after they'd arrived, Izzy found herself in the pool, teaching some of the girls how to swim. Truth be told, she was a little surprised that most of the girls were even getting into the pool. It mostly had to do with Haruhi's natural coaxing even thought she couldn't join them. Instead the younger brunette was sitting at the pool with her feet dipped into the water, watching with their group of girls. "Oh, Suzumiya-hime, how can you be so sure?" Izzy mused, hands held out to the younger girl. "Fortunately, I can do it so I won't let you drown, okay?" she motioned for the girl's hands.

"I think we can trust her, Suzumiya-hime," Haruhi piped up helpfully. More gentle coaxing from the rest of the girls was able to get Suzumiya into the pool. Izzy was surprisingly very patient with teaching the girls how to swim, never losing her temper. They carried on like that before the girls left Haruhi and Izzy for refreshments. Izzy made sure to warn them that if they ate anything, they would need to wait thirty minutes before getting back into the water.

"So," Izzy heaved herself out of the water, plopping down next to Haruhi. "The rumor mill says that you're either afraid to get into the water because of some beach incident," the older brunette waved her hand fleetingly. "Or, you've got some nasty commoner's scar that you're ashamed of showing."

"Commoner's scar?"

"Yes, apparently they're different from a rich person's scar," Izzy replied around a grin. Haruhi and Izzy shared a laugh at that, unaware of the camera shuttering as Renge snapped a quick picture of them together. "Who's idea was it to even have a day at the waterpark anyway?" Izzy asked after a moment of stifling her giggles.

"Ozawa-senpai, I think."

"Ah, no wonder she's strutting around like a peacock," Izzy mused, motioning to the honey-blonde. Haruhi looked in her direction and stifled a laugh, shooting Izzy a look.

"Careful, Kyoya can hear everything," Haruhi reminded her. Badmouthing the girls was generally frowned upon, even if that particular girl wasn't too fond of Izzy.

"He does have freakish hearing," Izzy mused with an impish twinkle to her eye, leaning back on her palms. She was about to continue their conversation when Kyoya motioned for her. She slumped her shoulders and heaved a sigh. "I'm being a summoned," she climbed to her feet and waved cheerfully to Haruhi before setting off for Honey and Mori. "Are you going to spend the entire trip eating snacks, Honey-chan?" Izzy asked immediately in amusement, dropping into a squat next to Honey. "You'll never get into the water at this rate," she pointed out, reaching over to pinch his cheek affectionately. Honey smiled up at her, offering her a peanut-butter cookie. She politely declined, watching in amusement as he devoured the treat whole. His cheeks bulged comically as he managed to shove another cookie into his mouth.

"I think we're all content to sit with Honey-chan and Mori-kun," Hisa swiftly spoke up, smiling tightly. Izzy turned to stare at her, eyebrow quirked as she quietly regarded her. She knew she wasn't supposed to react to any of Hisa's snide comments but Hell if that girl didn't make it difficult.

"Oh, Ozawa-hime, that's barely any fun," Izzy said after a long moment, like she'd been contemplating on even acknowledging her in the first place. Honey shoved yet another cookie in his mouth, causing Izzy to chuckle at the display. She reached up yet again, this time to brush errant crumbs from his face. No one could stay in a bitter mood with Honey around, she was beginning to realize. Even she wasn't immune to his tricks.

"Do you like to swim, Berry-chan?" Honey asked cutely, earning soft coos from the girls. Izzy let him go, rolling backwards to sit next to Mori. She stretched her legs out in front of her, crossing them at the ankles and smiling contently.

"I do," she nodded serenely. She did a lot of swimming while growing up, mostly to keep up the strength in her legs. Even after she stopped dancing, she still made sure to go swimming at least twice a week. Unfortunately, she hadn't done much swimming since coming to Japan. "What about you, Mori?"

Mori shrugged an apathetic shoulder although it didn't seem to deter Izzy in the slightest. "Why don't you and Takashi race around the pool, Berry-chan?" Honey suggested innocently, reaching for another cookie. Izzy eyed the depleting container of cookies, wondering how he managed to devour so much.

"Race against Mori? The superhuman? How could that possibly be fair?" Izzy raised her eyebrows, glancing at Mori once more. He was bigger and a hell of a lot stronger than she was but she was more lithe and had more experience in swimming.

"There's no way that Giovanni could win against Mori-kun," Hisa piped up once more. Izzy almost glared at her, instead opting to smile tightly at her. No, it was obvious that Izzy couldn't win against him but now her stubborn nature was coming into play. And besides, who even asked her in the first place?

A scathing remark was forming on the tip of her tongue when Mori leaned towards her, knocking his shoulder into hers. She blinked, whipping her head towards him with a tight frown. There was a slight warning in his eyes, causing the bitterness to die back down her throat. "We need more snacks," he pointed out, standing up to his full height. Izzy craned her neck back, hair falling over her shoulders, and quirked an eyebrow at him. She wasn't sure who this ' _we_ ' was because it definitely wasn't her and she was positive the girls hadn't been snacking either. She was just about to tell him that when he reached down, hand circling her elbow to pull her to her feet. "Watch over the girls, Mitsukuni."

Honey cutely saluted, causing the girls to swoon. Izzy almost rolled her eyes but was tugged along instead, following after Mori. Something told her that Mori was more than capable of getting more snacks by himself but chose to bring her along to put some distance between her and Hisa. That girl had some weird vendetta against her and Izzy had no idea why. Hisa had been the one to initiate them getting off on the wrong foot with that ridiculous mafia comment she made.

She was a bit surprised to see not only snacks waiting to be handed out but several pitchers of what she assumed was lemonade. "You guys go above and beyond," she muttered quietly, reaching for a serving tray.

"Have you seen your cousin lately, Bera?"

Izzy paused in arranging the snacks to her liken, glancing at her taller classmate. She raised a brow once more, ready to tell him that she saw Fumiko daily, when she realized he wasn't referring to her. "Are you talking about Katsu?" she asked dumbly, reaching for the pitchers. Mori snatched the pitcher up before she could curl her fingers around the handle. He nodded when she looked at him, huffing in amusement when he pointed her attention back towards the snacks. "No, actually. I haven't seen him since the party. He's nothing to worry about," Izzy replied, shrugging her shoulders before lifting the lighter tray of snacks.

Mori followed suit, easily balancing the heavier tray of dish-ware. "Nothing to worry about?" he murmured softly, looking her right in the eye. He rested the tray on his shoulder, using his other hand to reach for her wrist. He wasn't hurting her but his grip on her was firm, reminding her of their odd but short conversation in Haruhi's kitchen. "He hurt you."

"Yes, but it's just _Katsu_...it's just…"

Just what? Why did she even bother trying to defend him? Her cousin had been completely out of line that night. If Mori and Honey hadn't shown up, whose knows how it could have escalated.

"In any case," Izzy pulled her wrist free, shaking her head. "I haven't seen him since then and I'm sure that will be the last time. I think you scared him," she shrugged her shoulders. She turned sharply after that, flattening her palm against the center of the tray. Mori watched her go, toffee curls bouncing against her tanned back and shoulders. Izzy was turning out to be more stubborn than anyone had realized. It was his turn to follow after her, easily catching up with her casual stride. "Girls," she sung goodnaturedly. "Let's have some lemonade and snacks, yes?"

The girls, except for Hisa, swooned at her display. The honey-blonde stubbornly folded her arms across her chest as Izzy showed off. She didn't understand why the other girls were so accepting of the brunette joining the Host Club. There was nothing particularly special about her. So she could dance and play instruments, so what? She wasn't even that good looking! Sure, her hair was big and curly and sunlight was trapped in her eyes but that didn't mean she had the right to just join the Host Club. Who on earth did she think she was?

"Ozawa-hime," Mori interrupted her thoughts, offering a sweating glass of lemonade. Her nasty thoughts immediately melted away, a smile replacing her blank expression as she took the offered drink. She didn't even mind when Izzy leaned over, offering Hisa a snack as well.

Well, if she hosted quietly, maybe she wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

TeeBeMe: Iz is still as stubborn as hell.


	10. My Lucifer is lonely

Izzy hated parties. She was sure that somewhere down the line, she made that pretty clear but she was related to Chihiro. And apparently Chihiro didn't take 'no' for an answer. Izzy had to guess that Fumiko inherited her stubborn nature from Chi. She wondered which side of her family were more stubborn. The Giovanni or the Morimoto families. It would be amusing to see the two sides go head to head with one another.

That's besides the point.

The point was that she'd been forced into another one of those constricting kimonos and dragged off to yet another party. Whispers exchanged between her and Fumiko would reveal that _Morimoto Automobiles_ would be launching another luxury vehicle later in the month. That would explain why it was so imperative that she attend. Whether she agreed or not, Morimoto needed an heir to the company. They couldn't just _not_ have an heiress, they had to at least save face. So for now, Izzy got to play that part, unwilling or not.

Her kimono was an emerald green with a swarm of Sakura blossoms starting from the collar of her kimono down to the skirt. Her hair was once again, piled and styled into a heavy bun that weighed on her skull, decorative charms and combs shoved into her locks for added effects. She was pretty sure she was thrown into the green kimono to compensate for her lack of green eyes that the Morimoto family were so famous for. Fumiko, dressed in a pale pink kimono with graceful cranes at the skirt, leaned over into her cousin's personal space. "Stop making that face," she whispered quietly, offering a smile to passing faces.

"What face?"

"The face you're making right now."

"That's just my face."

" _I know."_

Izzy huffed out a dry laugh, hands folded neatly in front of her. She was beginning to notice that her mild cousin was developing a bite to her usual polite demeanor. A tiny part of Izzy wondered if she had anything to do with that development in her cousin. Not that it was a bad thing, Izzy was quite proud that her cousin was becoming just a bit more snarky. It was obvious that growing up in the Morimoto family was the leading factor of Fumiko's docile nature. She was always a gentle soul but Morimoto's stern ways manhandled that gentleness into submission. Things were a bit different in the Giovanni family, different personalities were welcomed in the Giovanni family.

The Giovanni kids were allowed to grow into their own personalities with some guidance from their parents. Their different personalities were often encouraged during their childhood. Izzy's stubborn nature would later come back to bite them but that's a story for another time. The point was, if the Morimoto family hadn't spent Fumiko and Katsu's childhood beating them into submission, they wouldn't need to call upon the mixed-breed niece to be the face of the company.

"Izabera," a sharp voice interrupted the quiet conversation between the two cousins. They glanced to their right to see Shinobu approaching them, dressed in a dark blue kimono with her hair pulled back into a severe twist. Izzy often wondered if Shinobu's tight hairstyles were the reason for the woman's naturally sour disposition. Chihiro followed after her mother, dressed in a pretty orange kimono. Her face was mostly a blank slate but Izzy felt her stomach tighten as Chihiro and Shinobu were accompanied by Morimoto Takuma, Kioka and Katsu.

 _Oh great._

"Izabera, it's come to my attention that you've never formally met your Uncle and his family," Shinobu spoke first, stopping in front of her granddaughters. Izzy didn't visibly react, her face a blank slate much like Chihiro's own facade. On the inside, Izzy was scowling distastefully. It wasn't an accident that she had yet to visit with her Uncle. It was no secret that he didn't think highly of her mixed race nor was it a secret on how he felt about his oldest sister's scandal seventeen years ago.

"Katsu and I have met. Weeks ago, actually," Izzy replied in a blank tone, her usual air of indifference becoming somewhat haunty. It was petty that she was basically telling on Katsu but she was sure that Shinobu had sternly ordered Takuma and his family to keep their distance from Izzy for the time being.

"Oh?" Shinobu didn't sound pleased but her expression didn't change. It wouldn't do well if the Morimoto family began squabbling at their own launch party. That was just barbaric.

Izzy nodded, the charms dangling from her hair clacking. "He was...invited to an event that my Club was hosting at school some weeks ago."

Katsu paled as Takuma glanced at him, a quiet rage in his eyes. Kioka suddenly detached herself from Takuma's side, smiling politely at Izzy. The taller brunette noted that Kioka had a strange resemblance to both Masami and Chihiro. She could almost pass for a Morimoto daughter, the resemblance was so uncanny. "We've never met, Izabera-chan," Kioka said, obviously trying to change the awkward moment. Chihiro remained quiet, observing the odd encounter. "I'm your Aunt Kioka," she offered politely, perfect smile still in place. That much was obvious but Izzy didn't point that out. Kioka actually seemed like a genuine woman and though they never actually met, she spoke to Kioka several times during her childhood. Why Kioka even married Takuma was beyond Izzy but it was none of her business.

"A pleasure to finally meet you, Aunt Kioka," Izzy replied just as politely, a small smile pulling at her blushing lips. There was no need to be unpleasant with Kioka. She already had to deal with Takuma, she didn't deserve Izzy's disdain as well.

Shinobu turned to her only son, an eyebrow raised. "Takuma, won't you say hello to your niece?"

Everyone seemed to have paused, waiting for the man to actually acknowledge Izzy for the first time. Acknowledging Izzy meant he acknowledged Masami's betrayal. "Izabera," Takuma finally said after a long moment. She wasn't sure how but Takuma managed to make her name sound like a curse.

"Uncle," Izzy replied just as coolly.

"Wonderful," Shinobu nodded, feeling the tension. "Now, let's remember what we're here for. Do not embarrass the family."

They dispersed after that with Izzy being dragged off by Fumiko and Chihiro to formally introduce her to Morimoto's extended family and business associates. They were mindful to keep her mostly away from Takuma as they busily schmoozed their guests into eventually purchasing the over-priced new model. She didn't understand why any of these people would spend thousands of dollars on a slightly different model but like a lot of things, it wasn't any of her business.

Izzy found herself hiding in the powder room under the guise of fixing her hair. She frowned at her reflection, adjusting the loosened hair charms so that they wouldn't slide right out of her hair. She wanted nothing more than to snatch them out of her locks but that would only serve to ruin her appearance and they couldn't have that. Izzy leaned into the mirror, making sure that her makeup hadn't smudged. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't hide in the bathroom forever lest she wanted her grandmother to send someone for her. Taking a deep breath, she turned towards the bathroom door.

Katsu was waiting just outside the door for her.

Izzy blinked at him for a long moment before turning her eyes upward to the ceiling. "Why me, God?" she asked no one in particular. She'd been hoping that with Shinobu's order not embarrass the family, Takuma and Katsu would keep a respectable distance. Clearly Katsu didn't get the memo. "Katsu," Izzy acknowledged in a sour tone that suggested she'd rather talk to the Devil himself over her cousin. "This is the ladies' powder room…" she pointed out, stepping away from the door and intent on getting back to the launch party. She was halted when Katsu stepped towards her, hand slapping rather loudly against the wall. She looked at his hand, a soft scowl on her face before she slowly turned to look at him. "So, I'm guessing it's not the powder room you want…" Izzy trailed off sarcastically, unimpressed with her younger cousin. She was right to assume he was taller than her, standing at Kyoya's height.

"I told you to go back to Italy," Katsu murmured softly, eyes unblinking as he stared down at her.

Izzy was busily planning an escape route but stopped when his comment sank in. She snapped her head up to look directly at him, an air of indifference hanging over her. "And I told you that what I do and don't do is not up for you to decide," she reminded him in a tight voice that would have usual offered no room for arguing. Katsu scowled down at her, leaning in and boxing her against the wall. Izzy had no choice but to step back, pressing her back tightly against the wall in a bid to put some distance between them. She was trapped, once more, but at least she wasn't about to tip over into a fountain this time. "Katsu, if this is about inheriting _Morimoto Automobiles,_ I don't want it. If you want to go fight with someone else, fight with Shinobu about it. I only came for Hiroki."

"You're lying," Katsu hissed irritably.

"Oh, for God's sake…" Izzy rolled her eyes, she shouldn't have to prove anything to Katsu. She didn't want the damn company, she barely wanted to come to Japan in the first place. However, now that Katsu was insisting that she had to go back, her stubborn nature was rearing its ugly head. "Katsu, just...move. I don't know what you're playing at nor do I want to know," Izzy pressed her hand to his chest, shoving him backwards. He reacted quicker than she gave him credit for, snatching her wrist up and stopping himself from being pushed away from her.

"You're not in charge here, Izabera."

"Oh? And neither are you. Now let go."

She swore to God Almighty, if he left more bruises on her wrist, she was going to throttle him. Party and reputation be damned. Izzy would not let herself be bullied by her cousin for something she didn't even want in the first place. "No, I don't think I will. Not until you promise to return to Italy. You don't belong in Japan, you never did. You're nothing but a filthy half-breed pretending you belong. But you don't and you never will."

Izzy felt like she'd suddenly been slapped. For reasons unknown to her, Katsu's words actually stung quite a bit. Just because she was interracial did not make her any less important. It certainly didn't make her a filthy half-breed who didn't belong. Her feelings were actually hurt by his comment but hell if she'd let him see that. "I don't belong but Shinobu wants _me_ , a half-breed, to inherit the company. That's ironic, isn't it? Maybe you should stop listening to all the garbage your father is feeding you, you mindless idiot."

Anger flashed across his face, reminding her of the quiet rage in Takuma's eyes. Most likely she'd gone too far and it looked like he was rearing up to slap the living daylights out of her. A hand suddenly landed on Katsu's shoulder, heavy and large. It was enough to startle the both of them, Izzy physically jumping at the intrusion. She peeked over her cousin's shoulder, a startled noise resounding from her throat.

" _Mori_?"

Mori was the last person she expected to see but there he was, heavy hand still on Katsu's shoulder. His fingers tightened in the fabric of his suit jacket, easily pulling him away from Izzy. Relief washed over her and she let out the breath she didn't even know she'd been holding. Katsu angrily shrugged Mori's grip off, scowling harshly as he smoothed the wrinkles away. Izzy was mortified, staring up at her classmate with wide eyes. What he was currently doing there was beyond her but she was embarrassed all the same. Mori's eyes only narrowed slightly but Izzy felt her stomach churn uncomfortably. She almost, _almost_ , felt the protective need to shield her dumb cousin from Mori's silent wrath. Katsu glared right back at Mori but it wasn't nearly as terrifying. Maybe it was because she knew Katsu couldn't hurt Mori the way Mori could hurt Katsu.

"Don't touch her again."

Izzy flushed heavily, looking away to avoid either of their gazes. This simply could not be happening, wasn't it enough that Mori had stepped into an altercation before? What God did she upset and what could she do to rectify her wrong? Maybe if she wished hard enough, the floor would open up and swallow her whole.

...Or not.

Katsu turned his glare on Izzy, like she was somehow the blame for all of this, and promptly stormed away. Shinobu and Takuma were going to be furious. She shoved that thought to the back burner, for now she had to deal with the embarrassment that was flooding her head to toe. "Well," she clapped her hands together. "That wasn't totally awkward," she tried, smiling in embarrassment. "Another argument you shouldn't have heard. If this gets out, Shinobu is going to kill me."

"You haven't done anything wrong," Mori pointed out after making sure Katsu really had gone back to the party. He turned to look at her, silver eyes dropping to her wrist once more. Noticing his gaze and sighing softly, she offered her wrist to him. Silent as ever, Mori took the offered appendage and drew the wide sleeve back to examine her wrist.

"No but I'm not exactly the favorite right now," Izzy replied sullenly, almost pouting. "He's probably weaving together some stupid lie about how we cornered and bullied him," she explained flatly. "What are you even doing here?"

"Fumiko-hime said you were taking too long."

Izzy heaved another sigh, resting her unoccupied hand on her hip. "Right, of course she did," she shook her head, knowing the Morimotos would be furious with her. She'd gone to the powder room by herself and now she would be seen returning with a boy, unsupervised.

Fabulous.

"They're going to have a field day with this," she muttered as Mori released her. Unlike last time, no bruise would come of Katsu's manhandling. "Let's head back before anyone else comes looking for me." She was only mildly surprised when he offered his arm to her. It was polite of him and maybe it won't look as bad when they made their return to the party. With a smile, she slipped her arm around his, letting him tuck her hand into the crock of his elbow. "I didn't see Honey-chan," Izzy made idle conversation, wanting to do anything but return to the party.

"He had a stomachache."

Izzy puckered her lips, tsking in disapproval. "Too much of a good thing isn't always a good thing," she chided while shaking her head. "I hope he feels better and won't miss school because of it," she stated genuinely, a bit put off that Honey wasn't around. She was sure the pint-sized Host would bounce back but it was a shame he had to miss out on the festivities. Not that she was having much fun herself but she was sure Honey's presence would've made things better. "In any case," Izzy spoke up as the sound of the ongoing party began to greet them. "Thank you again for...well... _that_ ," she motioned behind them with her free hand. "I'm not sure why Katsu thinks he can intimidate me…"

"What does he want?" Mori asked as they skirted the edge of the party. It would seem that no one had taken notice of them returning together. Perhaps the Gods smiled down on her for once. She decided not to question it, somewhat surprised that Mori didn't relinquish his hold on her.

"Well," Izzy dug her nails into the fabric of his suit-jacket. She was sure that Kyoya might have mentioned her family's company and the current power-struggle being waged. "For me to go back to Italy," she admitted, looking at everything but her classmate. Mori made an odd noise in his throat, although she wasn't sure why. "He thinks I want the company, not that I have any right to it, at least _I_ don't think I do. My right was forfeited when my mother fled to Italy. I suppose he's trying to scare me into going back to Italy."

She spotted Fumiko halfway across the room, speaking amicably with Chi and a rather large and intimidating looking man. She squinted at the man and then glanced up at Mori. "Is that your father?" she asked, hoping to distract him from her family drama. Mori glanced in her direction and gave one short nod. She could certainly see the freakish resemblance. She glanced between the two, humming with a nod.

"Will you go back?"

"Mm?"

"Will you return to Italy?"

Izzy paused, gaze slowly turning back towards Mori. She blinked under his unwavering gaze, seeing something in the depths of silver eyes. She wasn't sure what to call it but she was aware that there was something there. She stilled under his gaze, drumming her fingers against his arm. "No, I suppose not. At least..not yet," she murmured softly, tearing her gaze away. She suddenly felt too hot and the heavy folds of her kimono were of no help at all.

The look in his eyes unnerved her.

* * *

Izzy's face twisted in distaste as she quietly regarded her test grade. A bright red '70' stared back at her, silently mocking her. It was a passing grade but...barely. The problem with that is Izzy didn't do 'barely'. She was smart, she knew that, and had never gotten anything lower than a '90'. The test score was mocking her. She was a stickler when it came to her grades and even if she came from a powerful family, she didn't want that to be the only reason she stayed in the top classes. She wanted to earn her academic spot herself, like she'd been doing her entire school career.

The brunette nearly slumped back into her chair, lips threatening to pull into a petulant pout. She was far too old to pout but Izzy never did too well with failure. Hazel eyes roved the classroom, studying her classmates as they prepared to leave classes. Some would go to Club while others would return home. None seemed concerned or even put out but then again, no one was really concerned with their grades.

"Berry-chan," Honey appeared at her desk, big eyes straining to see what had her down in the dumps. "Are you okay?" he asked innocently as she shoved the test into her history folder. It wasn't anything to be ashamed of, she tried to rationalize. She failed miserably but she did try, that had to count for something. And technically, it wasn't even failing. It was just failing by _her_ standards.

"Peachy," Izzy replied tightly, slipping the folder into her bag.

Honey stuck a finger in his mouth, "like a peach tart?"

"How on Earth can you link everything back to snacks?" she mused down at him with a curled smile. "You've barely gotten over that stomachache, don't you think you should hold off on the sweets?"

"Nope."

"Well, alright then," Izzy gave up fairly easy with a shrug. "But don't say I didn't warn you," she chided lightly as the school's chiming ended the school day. Honey didn't heed her warning, hurrying her to get up. It was Monday, after all, which meant that she was to Host today. She wasn't quite in the mood to do so, her disappointing grade weighing heavy on her mind, but she had no choice. She joined the damn club so she would do what was needed.

Izzy walked alongside Mori, Honey propped on his shoulders. It was becoming natural to her at this point and a small part of her was becoming scared that the three of them might even be friends. She often found herself fussing and bantering with not only them but the rest of the Host Club much like she would her brothers or even Fumiko. And besides, she felt...almost closer to Mori now that he witnessed yet another confrontation between her and Katsu. He didn't say much about it but sometimes she caught him staring at her. Well, she couldn't really say she caught him staring because he never actually hid his staring.

Which was unnerving to say the least.

But she wasn't as uncomfortable around him like she'd originally been. It was good progress but clashed with her plans of not becoming friends with anyone while she was in Japan.

Izzy was at a standstill.

She enjoyed being around the Host Club. Yes, she thought they were ridiculous and over the top but she did enjoy being around them. She did wish they understood the concept of 'no' but she couldn't fault them for that. The point that she was trying to make was that she was failing to distance herself from the Host Club. She entertained the idea of just quitting the Host Club but something told her they wouldn't let her off so easily. To put it simply, she screwed up.

Izzy turned the corner after Mori, somewhat lost in her own thoughts when she ran straight into his back. She stumbled backwards, rubbing her nose. "Mori," she grumbled around her hand. "You can't just stop like that without any warning," she tweaked at her nose, wriggling it and mentally willing the throb to subside. When she didn't get a reply from either of them, she blinked the pain away and peered around Mori's wide frame. It was almost a comical sight to see her suddenly lean around him, eyebrows slightly raised with her hand still pressed to her nose. The color in her face instantly drained when she realized what stopped Mori.

Katsu.

 _Again._

The three of them quietly watched Katsu, outfitted in the Ouran's uniform for boys. Izzy blinked at the sight, brain short-circuiting. She didn't know an awful lot about her irritating cousin but she knew for sure that he wasn't a student of Ouran Academy. The trio didn't utter one word as they watched Katsu leave through the grand front doors, unaware of their staring. Mori moved first after Katsu was gone, gaze settling on Izzy as she continued to stare at the front doors. Her brows pulled in confusion, plump lips pursed in thought. She made an odd noise in her throat before tilting her head up to look at Mori.

"Well," her lips thinned distastefully. "That was an unforeseen development."

Honey shifted, laying his cheek against Mori's hair. "Takashi said he was being mean again at your party," Honey spoke in such a cute manner that it barely registered to Izzy what he actually said.

"Ah…" she dropped her hand away from her face. "He was being mean again but Mori swooped right in so it's fine," she tried to wave the notion off. Discussing what happened at the launch party was the last thing Izzy wanted to do at the moment. Hell, she didn't want to discuss it at all, ever again in her life. She'd much rather leave it where it was. In the past.

Honey's eyes watered, catching the brunette off guard as he turned them on her. "You're not really going to leave us, are you, Berry-chan?" he asked in a seemingly innocent voice. Izzy only quirked an eyebrow, glancing at Mori in betrayal. She wasn't sure why she assumed Mori would keep the subject of their conversation to himself. Obviously he was silent with everyone except for Honey. She didn't want to lie to Honey but she did plan on going back to Italy once the school year was finished. However, something told her that Honey wouldn't take it so well. When the pint-sized Host had become so attached to her, Izzy would never know. And as apathetic as she could, Izzy could not bring herself to bring Honey to actual tears.

"Now why would I leave now?" she asked instead, smiling in a charming manner. "Who's going to keep Tamaki and the twins from driving Haruhi up a wall if I leave now?" she tried to steer the conversation away from her eventual departure.

"You can't leave _at all_ , Berry-chan," Honey pointed out, turning those butterscotch eyes full of tears on her. Izzy almost pouted, wishing Honey wasn't so relentless.

"Mm, how can I when you've got those eyes on me? Your eyes remind me of butterscotch. Do you think Kyoya would order butterscotch pudding for us to serve to the girls?" she asked in a thoughtless manner, nearly grinning in victory when Honey took the bait. He completely forgot about Izzy leaving, instead going on a spiel about butterscotch pudding. Mori saw right through it, dark brow quirked as he regarded her. Izzy's struggles to hide her smug smile ceased as a more innocent smile tugged at her lips.

And for a moment, she forgot about Katsu.

* * *

"Busy-bee, Fufu," Hiroki's broad grin greeted the cousins as they hurried into his bedroom. It was an impromptu meeting and Shinobu wasn't too happy about the notion. It was Izzy's idea to drop by for a visit after they finished up with school and she wasn't the least bit sorry. He held his hands up, gently cupping their faces as they offered sweet smiles.

"Should you be up like this, Oji-chan?" Izzy asked, cupping the hand pressed to her face. "I don't think Ms. Ogen would approve of you being out of bed," she pointed out with a soft frown. The only reason why Ogen hadn't thrown them out was because they promised not to rile Hiroki up too much.

"Ogen worries far too much," Hiroki insisted, stepping back from his two granddaughters. "How are your studies faring? Shinobu has been telling me that you're adapting well, Busy-bee."

Izzy's face flushed somewhat, uncomfortable that Shinobu kept up on her. She was only paying attention to her because she wanted to make sure the future of _Morimoto Automobiles_ was smart and capable. She didn't care if Izzy was fond of Japanese Literature or if she was making friends. "School isn't hard," Izzy said instead, wishing Shinobu didn't see whatever is what was that she saw in Izzy. She thought about pleading her case to Hiroki, that she was not fit to someday take over, but she was positive that he agreed with Shinobu. She was, after all, Masami's daughter. "I like learning."

"All she does is study, Ji-chan," Fumiko spoke up with a dramatic sigh. "It's so boring sometimes, she barely comes shopping with me," she whined, ignoring Izzy's bemused expression.

"There's more to life than shopping, Fumi."

" _See_?" Fumiko groused. She didn't want to point out that Fumiko's whimsical attitude was the reason why Shinobu had her sights set on Izzy. Maybe if Fumiko stuck her nose in a book and not in a shopping bag more often, Shinobu would think better of Chihiro's frivolous daughter. Izzy kept the thought to herself though, it wasn't Fumiko's fault that they had such opposing personalities.

"Education is important, Fufu," Hiroki pointed out with amusement dancing in his old eyes. "But you're young, Bera, you should have more fun. Shinobu also says you've become quite popular."

"How does she know any of this—"

"—she is! She even joined a club!"

Izzy flushed heavily, frowning. The last thing she wanted to tell her ailing grandfather was that she was in a club wooing dumb girls. Hiroki might get the wrong idea and that wasn't something she felt like explaining. The amusement in his eyes increased tenfold. Shinobu hadn't mentioned that so Izzy joining a club must have been a recent development. That made things even better, it made it seem like Izzy was more of a team-player. "A club? So you've made friends."

"I...I guess you could say that."

Izzy distracted herself by reaching out and guiding Hiroki into an overstuffed and expensive chair. "They're good kids, a little wonky but they keep me on my toes," she mused softly, watching with a keen eye as Hiroki took his time to get comfortable. She could hear him breathing a bit too hard for her liking. "Sometimes they can be a bit...too much though."

"She's like their big sister—"

"—I'm not—"

"Except with Mori-senpai. He's _always_ looking out for Izzy."

" _Fumiko—"_

The blush was back as Izzy reached for Fumiko to shut her up. The younger Morimoto danced out of reach, eliciting a gravelly laugh from Hiroki. "It's true, Ji-chan. I think he likes her," she pratically squealed in a staged whisper. Fumiko's confession surprised Izzy, halting her in place. They hadn't discussed something _that_ lately. Even so, she quickly recovered, hoping that her quietness wouldn't cause Hiroki to believe her cousin's words.

"How would you even tell? His face barely moves," Izzy pointed out, a hand on her hip. "She's lying, Oji-chan. Mori and I are just friends, is all. We're just the only sensible ones, I think. He does tend to go along with Tamaki's schemes though…"

"Education first," Hiroki hummed in good nature, seemingly ignoring their bickering. The light atmosphere was cut short when the door opened, Ogen stepping in.

"Excuse me," she paused to quietly study Hiroki. "Shinobu-san would like a word with the young Miss," she nodded towards Izzy. The light atmosphere wasn't just cut short, it shattered. Izzy didn't want a word with Shinobu. Her chest felt heavy and whatever Shinobu wanted wasn't going to bode well for the young brunette. Knowing she can't just ignore her grandmother's summoning, she followed Ogen.

Shinobu was not alone. Takuma was practically glaring daggers at her and Izzy found herself staring at the exit and wondering if she could make a break for it. It would be disrespectful and extremely undignified but Izzy hardly wanted to be in the same room as Takuma, let alone have a conversation. "Izabera," her name was like a curse leaving his mouth, lips twisted up into a sneer. Her name sounded absolutely...filthy. It didn't sound right coming from him.

"Uncle," she returned blankly, eyes darting from him to Shinobu.

"Izabera, Takuma has some concerns when it comes to the interactions you've shared with your cousin," Shinobu spoke once she realized the two had nothing else to really say. "We aren't particularly pleased with how you've been treating Katsu and all your behavior towards him."

Izzy's head twitched hard on her shoulders. " _My_ behavior?" she repeated almost stupidly. The brunette squinted at her grandmother, slowly glancing at Takuma. "You aren't pleased with _my_ behavior?" she repeated, looking for clarity.

"You can understand basic Japanese, can't you?" Takuma's lip pulled. "Masami taught you that much, didn't she?"

"I understand Japanese just fine," Izzy snapped briskly. "What I don't understand is why I'm the one in the hot seat right now when I've done nothing wrong."

"Katsu told us about what happened at the launch party—"

"He told you that _he_ was harassing _me_?"

Takuma stepped closer to Izzy, dark eyes narrowed. She noticed vaguely that Takuma and Masami shared the same eye color. She'd never seen such a pretty color so dark with animosity before in her life."You and that Morinozuka boy cornered my son."

"Did we? And what, pray tell, did we do after we cornered him?"

"You—"

"Nothing! We didn't do anything because we didn't corner him. _He_ followed _me_ to the bathroom and tried to manhandle me a _second_ time. Mori scared him off because he was _threatening_ me," Izzy argued tensely, hair nearly standing on end. It was one thing to hurl accusations at her but at Mori? He hadn't done anything wrong but stop her own cousin from harassing her.

"You expect me to believe that?"

" _Yes_!" she threw her hands up, completely fed up and over the conversation.

Takuma scowled at Izzy but turned to Shinobu, writing her off rudely. "Mother, you really believe that she's a good fit for _Morimoto Automobiles_? Just look at how volatile she's acting!" he waved his hands in her general direction. Maybe if she wanted the compay, his words would have serve to anger her even more.

Izzy squinted at her uncle and wondered what the hell she wandered into. What did that have to do with Katsu lying about her and Mori? Who cared about who would one day inherit the damn company? This entire debacle was ridiculous. "Where is Katsu? I'll bet he won't lie with me standing in his face. Ask him what he said to me, ask him about the bruises on my wrists that I had to hide for weeks."

"My son would nev—"

"—oh yes he would and he has—"

"—you're lying—"

" _That's enough_."

The scary thing about Shinobu is that she rarely lost her composure. She never raised her voice and people around tended to just fall in line around her. Cold gray eyes studied them both, mouth pulled into a thin line. "Hiroki is resting and all the shouting could disturb him," she reminded them in that grave tone of hers. Izzy nearly wanted to pull her hair out. Who cares about him resting? She just revealed what Katsu had done to her and all Shinobu cared about was that the shouting could disturb Hiroki. Never mind that he was on the other side of a giant manor and probably couldn't hear a damn thing.

"Grandmother, there's been a mix up. I've tried to avoid interacting with Katsu because he's the one who's been acting inappropriately," Izzy said after taking a couple of deep breaths. Her control was beginning to wane and her infamous Giovanni temper was about to rear its ugly head.

"I see Masami has taught you to lie just as well."

" _You're_ the one with the lying, _spineless_ son!"

Takuma took a step forward and Izzy took a step back. Faster than she could blink, Takuma's hand struck out, catching Izzy off guard when her head snapped to the side from the blow. She had tried to dodge out of the way of her uncle's swinging hand, allowing the slap to land higher up on her face.

" _Takuma_ ," Shinobu didn't sound angry but more so exasperated that her son just slapped the living daylights out of her granddaughter.

"What on earth is all the screaming about—oh!" Chihiro chose that moment to step into the room, instantly noticing Izzy's red face. Something wet dripped down from just under her eye, confusing her even more. Her face had gone numb but she knew there was something definitely wet dripping down her face. Takuma's ring had caught Izzy just under her eye, tearing the skin open and leaving behind a gushing wound. She reached up, fingertips coming away bloody as Chihiro screamed at Takuma to ' _get the hell away from her!'_

"We have to get her to a hospital, she's bleeding!" Chihiro practicality screeched as Kioka came hurrying in to see what all the screaming was about. If Izzy hadn't gone into shock, she would have groaned out loud. All she needed was Hiroki, Fumiko and Katsu to join in and then it would really be a family affair. The color drained from Kioka's face when she saw the blood. Chihiro had Izzy's face in a tight grip, trying to see pass all the blood. She was also simultaneously yelling at Takuma, a feat that would have impressed Izzy. She was too busy reeling from the fact that Takuma actually slapped her.

As Chihiro stepped away to further berate her brother, Kioka stepped into view. Her fingers were cool as she turned Izzy's face to and fro to study the damage. "Ogen, would you please have the car brought around? I think she may need stitches."

 _Stitches?_

"Chihiro, calm down. You can't take Izabera to the hospital if you're this hysterical. What would everyone think?" Izzy heard Shinobu ask over all of the screeching. Oh sure, so her being slapped by her own Uncle was completely alright as long as no one outside the family found out?

This family was a nightmare.

Chihiro calmed down enough to drag Izzy to the Hospital, nearly forgetting about her own daughter. Fumiko was rightfully confused when she climbed into the car, paling at the sight of Izzy. The wound wasn't under her eye but more so along the curve of her cheek once the blood was cleaned away. It wasn't deep enough to require stitches, just butterfly bandages and they were sent on their way home.

Izzy remained silent for the rest of the night, having trouble with acknowledging that Takuma had really slapped her. And what's worse was that her grandmother didn't even seem to care. ' _What would everyone think?'_ that's all she cared about? What everyone would think of them if they weren't the perfect family the media portrayed them to be? Newsflash, they _weren't_ perfect. Katsu was a lying menace and his father was an abusive psychopath.

The fact that both Shinobu and Kioka remained calm was a warning bell to her. Were bouts of violence a normal occurrence? Did Takuma hit Kioka? Did he hit Katsu? Shinobu was okay with that sort of treatment? Did Hiroki know of his son's violent ways?

Izzy glanced at the phone in front of her. She should tell her parents, demand that they buy her a ticket back to Italy. There's no way Alphonse would allow his only daughter to stay after being slapped by her own uncle. She couldn't remember a time that her parents used violence as a disciplinary tactic. Not that she was a bad kid growing up but when Izzy dared to step out of line, Alphonse never once hit her.

Fumiko came shuffling into the room, looking absolutely distraught. "Izzy?" she asked carefully, slowly approaching her older cousin. Izzy glanced up at her, face blank. "I would ask if you're alright but I highly doubt it.." Fumiko trailed off sheepishly, finding her feet extremely interesting.

"Well, my face hurts," Izzy deadpanned in that special way of hers. "Is...is that normal?"

Fumiko finally looked up, fingers twisting the material of her expensive blouse. "Well...I've never actually witnessed any acts of violence but sometimes I would hear mama talking about it with Shinobu," she revealed slowly, sitting down next to her cousin. "But sometimes I see him grab aunt Ki too hard…"

"Shinobu didn't seem surprised at all…"

"She's never surprised by anything," Fumiko revealed cryptically, still pulling at her blouse. Izzy was sure Chi would frown at all the pulling. "Are you...are you leaving?"

Izzy reclined into the sofa, a thoughtful expression crossing her features. She could only imagine the absolute scandal it would bring if she hoped on a plan to run off back to Italy. She'd be just like her mother, running away and leaving all of her troubles behind in Japan.

"No, I'm not leaving."

* * *

Izzy resisted the urge to blow at her bangs. Maybe she should have just listened to Chi and stayed home from school. But Izzy was stubborn and simply brushed her bangs to cover half of her face. They were long and curly enough to hide the bandaids but she wasn't used to having half her vision obscured. Thankfully her hair was thick enough to hide the flesh-covered bandaid slapped against her cheek. She received tons of compliments on the style that she accepted graciously but she hated it.

It was only Tuesday, which meant she wasn't needed at the Host Club. She skipped out on Club all together, slipping away to the Library until Fumiko was done being hosted. She knew she would pay for the slight later when the Club members got a hold of her but she simply didn't have the energy to slap on her Club personality.

Her face was throbbing awful and a headache was weighing her mind down. She wasn't quite sure what to do after deciding to stay in Japan. She blamed her stubborn nature and extreme pettiness on staying but there's no way she would continue to tolerate Takuma. He couldn't just get away with slapping the hell out of her. Who the hell did he think he was?

"Pretentious bastard," she swore quietly, flipping through her history textbook. She breezed through nearly all of her homework, saving History for last. It only added to her already irritatable mood. It was a good thing she skipped Club, she was far too cranky to keep up her big sisterly persona.

"Oh, I've spent enough time thinking about that demon from Hell," Izzy snorted, threading her fingers through her bangs to pin up towards her forehead. No one was in the library at the moment, allowing her to clear her face of her bangs. She wasn't sure how long she was supposed to keep the ridiculous style, irritating her even more. "Lucifer sure must be lonely..."

Izzy finished up her History homework, knowing she might have gotten a few answers wrong. "Perhaps I might compare answers with Mori and Honey-chan tomorrow before history class..." she trailed off, stretching her arms high above her head. She continued to stretch, arching her back over the chair with a satisfied sigh. The brunette laughed, dropping her head to hang. Mori would definitely help her out but something told her she'd have to bribe Honey with treats.

"What on earth have I gotten myself into?" Izzy sat up, chuckling softly as she did so. Noting that the Host Club was most likely finishing up, she began to gather her homework. Fumiko would already be upset that she didn't attend, being late wouldn't help matters. Izzy fixed her bangs to sit back over her face, sighing as she did so. Humming a soft tune to herself, she left the library intent on beating Fumiko to the front doors.

Only to promptly run into something hard as soon as she steped out of the library. "Jesus Christ," she swore crossly, stumbling backwards into the doors. Looking up, she wasn't as surprised as she should have been. "For the love of God, Mori," she held her nose for what felt like umpteenth time. "What are you made of? Iron?"

Hands shoved into his pockets, Izzy noted that Honey was, once again, absent from Mori's shoulders. That was odd but she chalked it off, more concerned about her nose. This was her third time running face first into him, she wasn't sure if her face could take much more of a beating.

"For someone so big, you move a bit too silently for my tastes. This is the third time that I've literally run into you," she rambled, waving her free hand at him. "But what are you even doing here? I must be later than I thought if you made it here from Club already. Where's Honey-chan?"

"You didn't come today."

"Eh? Oh, well, it's Tuesday so it's not a host day for me. I thought I could get a head start on homework and study for a bit. Did Tamaki and the others miss me?"

"Something like that."

If Mori's short answers bothered her, she hid it well. She barely noticed, smiling with a soft chuckle. "I'll be sure to come tomorrow, no worries, yes?"

Mori gave one short nod, eliciting yet another chuckle from her. Her laughter came to a screeching halt when Mori finally asked his own question.

"What happened to your face?"

"...What?" she asked slowly, a nervous tic ruining her smile.

"What happened to your face, Bera?"

Izzy stared up at him, eyes a little wider than normal. She'd been careful all day not to move too much, avoiding jostling her bangs out of place. No one had noticed that the sudden change was because she was trying to hide something.

How in the hell had Mori noticed?

"My face? What happened to my face? Why would you think something happened to my face?" she stammered in a high-pitched voice.

Mori reached forward and Izzy flinched almost violently backwards. The last time a hand came within reach of her face, the living daylights were slapped out of her. But Mori didn't falter, fingers brushing against her skin as he tucked her bangs away behind her ear.

Her bandaids were now on full display.

" _That_ happened to your face," he pointed out, dropping his hand moments later. "It wasn't there yesterday."

Out of habit, Izzy tucked her bangs back more securely, cursing herself moments later. "Oh," she was giggling nervously. "You mean _that_..."

Why was her voice so squeaky?

"Ah..well...I was visiting with my grandparentes yesterday and I...fell."

God, why was she suddenly so terrible at lying?

Although his face showed no sign of changing, she knew Mori didn't believe her for one second. She fell? Seriously? That's the best she could come up with? She was usually a better liar and had an impressive poker face. Something wasn't just wasn't adding up.

Mori's palm slamming against the door above her head had her jumping backwards, back pressing tightly against the door. He leaned his full weight against his arm while she pulled into herself, sliding a bit down the door in an attempt to put some space in between them. The hand right above her head drew into a slow fist.

"You fell," he repeated quietly.

They both knew it was a lie.

* * *

Tee: I forgot how hard of a character Mori is to write. Especially in a romantic sense. Dude barely talks as it is. Why do I always do this? I literally always pick the hardest character to write about lol. I hope y'all don't think he's been talking _too_ much. Something's gotta give man or nothing will ever develop lol.

Anyway, hope yall enjoy.


End file.
